The Roll Call Behavior of Men and Women in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1937–2008

Abstract

Our analysis investigates the ideological differences in the voting records of male and female members of the U.S. House of Representatives using a relatively novel natural-experiment research design to account for variations in district-level factors. We ask whether it makes a difference when a woman succeeds a man or a man succeeds a woman in a given congressional district. To answer this question, we created a database consisting of predecessor-successor pairs in all elections to the House between 1937 and 2008. In the case of intraparty change, we find that there is no significant difference in the voting scores of female and male members of the House; the roll call scores of female Democrats who replace male Democrats are virtually identical, as are the scores of male Democrats who replace female Democrats. The same results hold for Republicans. We also demonstrate that when interparty change occurs in a district, there is no evidence that the resulting ideological change is greater when the successor or predecessor is a woman. In other words, the voting records of consecutive members of Congress that come from a particular district are virtually the same regardless of their gender.W omen now constitute a substantial and growing presence as candidates and elected officials in state legislatures and the U.S. Congress. In the face of this change, a rich literature has developed that explores the influence of women on legislative institutions. There is clear

Gender and Roll Call Voting Behavior in Congress: A Cross-Chamber Analysis

“…In the modern House of Representatives partisan polarization is so deep that over the past few Congresses gender differences are imperceptible once constituency effects are controlled for. This study confirms the most recent research on voting in the U.S. House that has uncovered no meaningful differences in the roll call ideology of male and female representatives (Frederick 2009;Schwindt-Bayer and Corbetta 2004;Simon and Palmer 2010). The extreme polarization in the House and the rigid control the majority party has over the rules of the institution do not foster conditions where gender differences can be readily observed.…”

“…In the analysis of the descriptive data female House Democrats stood out as the most liberal group of House Democrats but once their propensity to represent very liberal districts is controlled for their voting records are very much in sync with the other Democrats in Congress both male and female. This finding supports the conclusions of recent studies of gender and voting behavior in Congress that the policy records of male and female Democrats have become indistinguishable once constituency effects are properly controlled for (Frederick 2009(Frederick , 2010Simon and Palmer 2010). In the present study this phenomenon is in evidence for the institutional settings of both the House and Senate.…”

“…They uncovered no significant relationship between gender turnover and the change in the representative's roll call voting record. Simon and Palmer (2010) extended this analysis from 1937-2008 and also confirmed that male and female House members representing the same districts displayed very little variation in their voting records. Frederick's (2009) extensive time series analysis of voting patterns in the House from the 97th-109th Congresses reveals that while Republican women were once more liberal than their male colleagues in more recent congresses these differences have all but vanished.…”

“…Whether looking at multiple indices of liberalism or conservatism or at specific issues substantively related to the concerns of women a wide array of scholars has established that women tend be to the left of their male colleagues (Burrell 1994;Clark 1998;Dodson 2006;Dolan 1997;Francovic 1977;Frederick 2011;Pearson 2009;Rocca et al 2008;Swers 1998 and2002;Tatalovich and Schier 1993;Welch 1985). In spite of this evidence an emerging line of studies have begun to question the conventional wisdom (Frederick 2009;Schwindt-Bayer and Corbetta 2004;Simon and Palmer 2010). The message emanating from this line of scholarship is that gender is not a significant variable when it comes to predicting how members of Congress are positioned on the ideological spectrum.…”

Measuring Political Positions from Legislative Speech

“…Some research on roll-call scores has shown that the average female representative in the US votes to the left of the average male representative from the same party; however, a recent study by Simon and Palmer (2010) suggests that this may be an artifact of the seats to which women are most likely to be elected. They construct comparisons of female members of the US House, not to all other same-party representatives, but rather to male same-party representatives who immediately preceded or succeeded them.…”