The Effect of Pre-Congressional Experience on Legislative Behavior

• In Event: Identity & Representation

Abstract

Our paper examines the impact of gender socialization on female legislators’ trajectories to office, and the effects of these political experiences on subsequent legislative behavior. Given that effective representation is essential to democracy, the exploration of how gender and past political experience shape legislative behavior sheds important light on how a diverse set of representatives, who bring with them distinct insight from their pasts, can promote a richer democratic process. Though growing bodies of literature have focused on the independent effects of gender and career experience on legislative behavior, their intersection has not been considered. Our book project fills this gap by examining whether and to what extent gender moderates the effects of career experience on legislative effectiveness. We use a content analysis of floor speeches by all women representatives in the 117th Congress to chart how various pre-Congressional experience interacts with gender to effect this aspect of legislative behavior. As the number of women in Congress continues to rise, these questions become essential to a rich understanding of legislative behavior and effectiveness.

Authors

• Anne C Pluta, Rowan University

• Katharine S. Javian, Rowan University