difference between the percentage of male and female voters who identify as Democrats) evolved from being non-existent in the early 1980s to a nearly 10 point difference by the end of the 1990s. Partisan Cleavages and the Descriptive-Substantive Representation Link The 1980 party platform divergence on the ERA coincides with the beginning of a dramatic divergence borne out at the polls a decade later between the parties on the – – proportion of women in each party’s Congressional delegation, a difference that provides a unique opportunity to explore the relationship between the number of women and their corresponding treatment in Congress. When the electoral consequences of this party divergence on ERA was borne out approximately a decade later (1992) as the proportion of Democratic female House members began to sharply increase, whereas the proportion of their Republican female counterparts remained relatively stable (see Figure 2.1). From the 105th through 108th Congresses, for instance, the average proportion of Democratic women in the Democratic Caucus was 2½ times greater than the average proportion of Republican women in their caucus. Furthermore, this trend is also reflected in the electorate as a whole, where women are more likely than men to identify with the Democratic Party (Box-Steffensmeier, DeBoef, and Lin 2004; Frankovic 1982; Kaufman 2002) and vote for Democratic political candidates (Klein 1985; Wirls 1986) since 1980. [Insert Figure 2.1 About Here] This partisan dissimilarity in descriptive representation has tangible implications for substantive representation for two reasons. First, members of historically underrepresented and/or minority groups (e.g., women and racial minorities) tend to be more supportive of
difference between the percentage of male and female voters who identify as Democrats) evolved from being non-existent in the early 1980s to a nearly 10 point difference by the end of the 1990s. Partisan Cleavages and the Descriptive-Substantive Representation Link The 1980 party platform divergence on the ERA coincides with the beginning of a dramatic divergence – borne out at the polls a decade later – between the parties on the proportion of women in each party’s Congressional delegation, a difference that provides a unique opportunity to explore the relationship between the number of women and their corresponding treatment in Congress. When the electoral consequences of this party divergence on ERA was borne out approximately a decade later (1992) as the proportion of Democratic female House members began to sharply increase, whereas the proportion of their Republican female counterparts remained relatively stable (see Figure 2.1). From the 105th through 108th Congresses, for instance, the average proportion of Democratic women in the Democratic Caucus was 2½ times greater than the average proportion of Republican women in their caucus. Furthermore, this trend is also reflected in the electorate as a whole, where women are more likely than men to identify with the Democratic Party (Box-Steffensmeier, DeBoef, and Lin 2004; Frankovic 1982; Kaufman 2002) and vote for Democratic political candidates (Klein 1985; Wirls 1986) since 1980. [Insert Figure 2.1 About Here] This partisan dissimilarity in descriptive representation has tangible implications for substantive representation for two reasons. First, members of historically underrepresented and/or minority groups (e.g., women and racial minorities) tend to be more supportive of
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