Shattering the Marble Ceiling: A Research Note on Women‐Friendly State Legislative Districts^*

Abstract

Objective. Palmer and Simon's (2008) "women-friendly" district index has proven a useful theoretical and empirical construct for researchers studying congressional elections. In one parsimonious measure, the authors capture 12 factors predicting women's election to the House of Representatives. The construct's utility in other political contexts, however, has not yet been tested. Methods. We test the women-friendliness index using a new data set on state legislative elections. Results. We find that the women-friendly district index is useful for predicting the election of women in state legislatures. The index's predictive power is robust to institutional variations and surpasses other contextual indicators, such as political culture. Conclusions. Our analysis suggests that "women friendliness" is a useful empirical concept with application in multiple political contexts.

It's All Relative: Understanding “Women Friendliness” Between and Within States

“…This analysis reveals several significant findings. First, it replicates the findings of previous analyses (e.g., Palmer and Simon, , ; Pyeatt and Yanus, ) that women are more likely to run and win in state legislative districts that are nationally women friendly. Second, it builds on this extant research by demonstrating that state‐level political context also has an important, conditional effect on the emergence and victory of women candidates.…”

“…This article considers three expectations regarding how multiple dimensions of political context affect the emergence and election of women candidates. First, replicating and building upon earlier work, we expect that a district's women friendliness when compared to other districts across the country will help to predict areas where women are more likely to run for state legislature and to win election (Palmer and Simon, , ; Pyeatt and Yanus, ). Specifically, we posit: Hypothesis 1 : Women candidates and winners will be more likely in districts that are more women friendly as determined by a national comparison. …”

“…Context affects a wide range of political outcomes, including candidate emergence (Carson et al., ; Jacobson and Kernell, ; Kazee, ; Maisel and Stone, ), political participation (Logan, Darrah, and Oh, ), and election results (Desposato and Petrocik, ). In particular, a substantial body of research has focused on how political context affects the representation of women in legislatures (e.g., Darcy, Welch, and Clark, ; Hogan, ; King, ; Matland and Studlar, ; Nechemias, ; Palmer and Simon, , ; Paxton, Hughes, and Painter, ; Pyeatt and Yanus, ; Setzler, ). Most of these studies, however, have been based on national comparisons, and have paid comparatively less attention to comparisons within states.…”

“…One particularly significant objective consideration for women candidates is a state or district's relative hospitability to women candidates—so‐called women friendliness (Palmer and Simon, , ; Pyeatt and Yanus, ; Windett, Winburn, and Smith, ). When compared to national averages, women‐friendly districts tend to be more Democratic, affluent, educated, and racially and ethnically diverse (Palmer and Simon, , 2012); strategically speaking, a potential candidate may perceive lower costs and an increased probability of victory in such a district.…”

“…When compared to national averages, women‐friendly districts tend to be more Democratic, affluent, educated, and racially and ethnically diverse (Palmer and Simon, , 2012); strategically speaking, a potential candidate may perceive lower costs and an increased probability of victory in such a district. Prospective candidates may also be encouraged by a rich history of electing women legislators in an area (Fulton, ; Palmer and Simon, , ; Pyeatt and Yanus, ; Setzler, ).…”