ABSTRACT
This chapter examines women's political participation in the electorate as voters, partisans, and members of political organizations. Women who petitioned for suffrage rights engaged in protests to attract attention in the absence of power and access to other important political resources. "Men said that woman suffrage had promised almost everything and accomplished almost nothing when neither of these were true". Although many attribute decreases in overall voter turnout during the 1920s to women entering the eligible electorate but not actually casting a ballot, some evidence contradicts that notion. The impact of the gender gap depends wholly on the proportion of men and women voting in any single election. By and large, women voted similarly to men, but initially in smaller numbers. The chapter concludes with four factors that may increase women's political participation: events and issues, high-profile female candidates, organizations that target women, and the role of political parties.
