ABSTRACT
Nationally, women hold only 26.5% of the seats in the 117th US Congress. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has a history of underrepresentation of women serving in its governing bodies. The puzzle of women’s lack of representation in political life goes beyond the gender gap, as women are strong political actors in many ways. Women are registered to vote at higher rates than men and they exercise their right to vote at higher rates than their male peers. The United States of America is a grand experiment of a representative democracy fueled by self-government. Women legislators are also known to “represent” women outside of their geographic district boundaries—a phenomenon coined as “surrogate representation”. Political scientists continue to find evidence for the role that gender plays in shaping policymaking. In recent years, the Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics has become a leader in women and politics, not only on campus but across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, due to its educational programming.
