ABSTRACT
In 1982, Virginia Sapiro suggested that a “central research question for those who study women’s political roles is why, given the lack of legal or obvious structural barriers to recruitment of female elites, are women still so underrepresented among political officials” (1982: 61). More than twenty years later, those who study women as political candidates still seek to respond to that question. Although the number of women holding political office has steadily but slowly increased, uncovering the barriers that restrict female candidates from election to public office is important if we seek fair representation.
