Support for Women's Rights Policy

Abstract

This study examines the commonly held view that women are different from men as political actors. It focuses on local representatives in Connecticut and inquires whether women politicians express more support for feminist political issues than do men and whether they express more support for a role for women in politics. When measured by a feminist policy index, women are more favorable toward feminist issues but they do not maintain a higher level of support when these issues compete with other political issues. Liberalism and party affiliation are better indicators of support for a feminist policy position. Four dimensions of women's rights policy are revealed in a factor analysis; sensitivity to discrimination against women in politics, skepticism about the ability of women to pursue political careers without damaging their private lives, support for the formal manifestations of the Women's Movement, and approval of a traditional image of women politicians. Significant differences between the sexes are found on the first two factors in the expected direction: women are more sympathetic to the plight of women politicians and men are more skeptical about women pursuing political careers.