Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgements
About the Authors
CHAPTER 1 • Why Don’t Women Rule the World?
The Creation of Patriarchy
Reification and the Social Construction of Reality
Conclusion
Plan of the Book
Review Questions
Ambition Activities
Key Words
References
CHAPTER 2 • History of Women in Politics
Colonial History
The First Wave
The Second Wave
The Third Wave
Conclusion
Review Questions
Ambition Activities
Key Words
References
CHAPTER 3 • Public Opinion
How Individuals Form Opinions About Gender Issues
How Sex Influences Public Opinion
Partisan Preferences and Voting Behavior
Conclusion
Review Questions
Ambition Activities
Key Words
References
CHAPTER 4 • Political Ambition
Promoting Women’s Access and Ambition
Gender Socialization and Political Ambition
Traditional Family Role Orientations
The Masculinized Ethos of Politics
Women’s Gendered Psyche
Conclusion
Review Questions
Ambition Activities
Key Words
References
CHAPTER 5 • When Women Run
When and Where Women Candidates Emerge
Campaign Finance
Women as Candidates in 2018
Dismantling the Masculine Ethos of Politics in 2018 and Beyond
Conclusion
Review Questions
Ambition Activities
Key Words
References
CHAPTER 6 • Women in Legislatures
Women’s Representation in Legislatures Around the World
Theories of Representation
The Effect of Women’s Representation in Legislative Bodies
The Behavior of Individual Women Legislators
Women as Institutional Leaders
Effects Outside the Institution
How to Increase the Number of Women in Legislative Office
Conclusion
Review Questions
Ambition Activities
Key Words
References
CHAPTER 7 • Women in the Executive
Patriarchy, Military Masculinity, and Executive Stereotypes
Gender Stereotypes in Leadership and the Presidency: Public Support and Media
Descriptive Representation in Parts of the Executive
Women in Cabinets: The United States and in Comparative Perspective
Women’s Policy Agencies
Women in State and Local Institutions
Substantive and Symbolic Representation in Executive Institutions
Conclusion
Review Questions
Ambition Activities
Key Words
References
CHAPTER 8 • Women in the Judiciary
Women as Lawyers and in Law School
Women as Public Legal Officials
The Impact of Women in the Judicial Branch
The Effect of the Courts on Women’s Lives
Increasing the Representation of Women in the Judicial Branch
Conclusion
Review Questions
Ambition Activities
Key Words
References
CHAPTER 9 • Women in Social Movements
Interest Groups, Social Movements, and Social Movement Organizations
Challenges for Women’s and Feminist Movements
Conclusion: Intersectional Resistance in the Post-Trump Era
Review Questions
Ambition Activities
Key Words
References
CHAPTER 10 • Conclusion
The First Step: Admit That Patriarchy Exists
The Second Step: Listen to Women’s Complaints and Take Their Anger Seriously
The Third Step: Understand the Roots of Women’s Anger
The Fourth Step: Monitor Progress and Backlash to Establish Priorities
The Fifth Step: Decide What to Do and Act
Review Questions
Ambition Activity
Key Words
References
Appendices
Appendix 1: Conducting Interviews
Appendix 2: Comparison
Index

About the Author

Dr. J. Cherie Strachan (PhD, State University of New York at Albany, 2000) is Professor of Political Science at Central Michigan University.  Her research addresses the effects of partisan polarization on elections, the role of civility in a democratic society, and the effect of college-level civic education interventions, deliberative forums, and campus organizations on students’ civic skills and identities.  Her applied pedagogy research has resulted in on-going work with foundations such as the Kettering Foundation, The National Institute for Civil Discourse, and the American Democracy Project.  Strachan currently serves as the Review Editor for the Journal of Political Science Education. She is also co-founder and co-director of the Consortium for Inter-Campus SoTL Research (CISR), which facilitates multi-campus data collection for civic engagement and political science pedagogy research. Dr. Lori M. Poloni-Staudinger (PhD, Indiana University, 2005) is Associate Dean for research, personnel, and graduate programs in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and a Professor of Political Science at Northern Arizona University. Her research and publications focus on social movements, political contention and extra-institutional participation, and political institutions, mainly in Western Europe. Her recent work examines questions around women and political violence. She was a Distinguished Fulbright Fellow at the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna, Austria, and has served as a consultant for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. She also taught at University of the Basque Country in San Sebastian, Spain. She served as treasurer, vice president and president of the Women’s Caucus for the Midwest Political Science Association. Lori is a Kettering Foundation Fellow and also serves as vice president of a school board and president of a non-profit board in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Dr. Shannon Jenkins (PhD, Loyola University Chicago, 2003) is a professor in the Department of Political Science and the Academic Director of Online Learning at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Her research and publications focus on decision making in U.S. state legislatures, with a specific interest in the role of political organizations and gender in shaping outputs in these institutions, and the impact of specific pedagogical practices on student learning outcomes in political science courses. She has been a Fulbright Lecturer at East China University of Political Science and Law in Shanghai in 2012 and at Yokohama National University and Tokai University in Japan in 2019. Previously, she taught at Central Michigan University. She was also elected to and currently serves on the School Committee in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

Candice D. Ortbals  (PhD, Indiana University, 2004) is Professor of Political Science at Pepperdine University. Her publications relate to state feminism in Spain and gender and terrorism. She has been the newsletter editor, president-elect, and president of the Women’s Caucus of the Midwest Political Science Association. She also served as President for the National Women’s Caucus of Political Science. She has taught at the University of Seville, and she was winner of the Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for Research on Women and Politics. She has also received numerous grants from the government of Spain to study women in regional and local government.

Reviews

"[Why Don’t Women Rule the World?] is unlike other texts in its comparative approach and strong theoretical underpinnings. It has interesting pedagogical features that will resonate with comparative scholars, Americanists and those who integrate public policy analysis into the course."
*Rebecca E. Deen*

The text focuses on American women but includes numerous international comparative examples and profiles...The authors do valuable work in systematically unpacking arguments for why women are underrepresented in public life and assessing what social science research reveals about relevant issues, such as voter response to female candidates, the power of incumbency, and the media bias.
*C.E. Rymph*