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Pennsylvania General Assembly Case Study

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The Women of the Pennsylvania General Assembly:
Explaining Women’s Representation in Pennsylvania State Politics

Abstract
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is ranked 39th of the 50 state legislatures for its proportion of female legislators. Women constitute 17.8% of the bicameral legislature, including nine of 50 senators and 36 of 203 representatives. The structure of the Pennsylvania General Assembly appears to provide numerous barriers to women’s entry. As such, the presence of 45 women in the legislature is noteworthy. This exploratory case study examines the experiences of women serving in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, presenting results from a database of basic information about each legislator and several interviews with female legislators. The findings indicate that these women were encouraged to run for their current seats primarily by having the support of their families and political parties, by the availability of open seats, and by developing confidence in their qualifications through a politicized upbringing.

Introduction

Somebody once said that it’s not that women see things differently; they see different things. My life experiences as a mother, a daughter, as a sister …show more content…

Nevertheless, the results of this study remain relevant since most of the 45 women who were in office before the elections are still in those same offices, and Pennsylvania women—and women in the United States, in general—remain subject to all or most of the same structural and cultural obstacles that the women in my sample have faced. Following the 2014 elections, the percentage of women in the Pennsylvania General Assembly remained at 17.8% (CAWP 2015b). Pennsylvania’s ranking for the representation of women among the 50 state legislatures worsened slightly from 38th to 39th (CAWP

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