ABSTRACT
Despite steady progress over the last twenty-five years and even more rapid gains in recent elections, the number of women in political office in the United States is still significantly smaller than the number of men. Does it matter if more men than women are in politics? Are we concerned about this issue from a purely numerical standpoint, or is it that women in office govern differently than men and are therefore better able to represent women’s interests? How do we define “women’s interests”? The paradox of gender equality is again a useful way to evaluate our expectations about the number of women in office as well as how we think women will (or should) behave once in office.
