In practice, this is accomplished by rejecting the stereotypical set of Democratic Party–aligned “women’s issues” and instead framing Republican-owned issues through the lens of their own gendered life experiences. To thread the needle, Wineinger argues that Republican women articulate a fused gender-partisan identity. At the same time, Republican women face disadvantageous ideological stereotypes because of their gender, and thus must clear a higher hurdle when it comes to demonstrating party loyalty, particularly in a highly polarized Congress. Wineinger’s starting point is that Republican congresswomen face the unique challenge of crafting representational claims for women in a party culture that increasingly eschews explicit identity-based messaging. Wineinger also sheds light on the mechanism behind the persistent underrepresentation of women in the GOP’s congressional delegation, enabling us to better understand women’s future in the Republican Party.
The resulting analysis offers a fresh perspective on the ways that institutional changes have altered both the way Republican women work together in Congress and the character of the representation they provide. To gain insights into the opportunities and obstacles facing Republican women serving in the US House, Catherine Wineinger uses a mixed-method approach featuring content analysis of floor speeches and in-depth case studies of congressional organizations and women in key leadership positions within the Republican House Conference. This partisan asymmetry suggests that Republican women face distinct electoral challenges and once elected to office must navigate unique strategic contexts within their own party to govern. At present, Democratic women outnumber Republican women 2:1 in the Senate and about 3:1 in the House. In spite of these recent successes, Republican women seem to face more electoral obstacles than their counterparts across the aisle. Many of these gains were in the House, where Republican women proved particularly effective at flipping key seats and narrowing the Democratic majority. The number of Republican women elected to the US Congress nearly doubled in 2020, after taking a significant hit in 2018.
0 kommentar(er)
