ABSTRACT
This chapter studies the material support offered by women’s training organizations and its effects on individual political candidacies and party strategies in the United States. It asks not only how do these organizations mediate the relationship between prospective women candidates and party gatekeepers, but also how their efforts alter each group’s incentive structures. The analysis, which is based on 30 semi-structured interviews with trainees, aspirants, sitting politicians, party operatives, and training organizers, reveals that expectations between trained women and party gatekeepers remain misaligned. Women prospective candidates ready to launch their electoral bids following their training are often frustrated by the demands from gatekeepers to demonstrate their worth to the party prior to receiving an endorsement to run. The interaction’s contingent and resource-intensive nature leads many women to drop their electoral bids, further jeopardizing efforts to achieve gender parity in elected government.
