Skip to content
Licensed Unlicensed Requires Authentication Published by De Gruyter September 21, 2020

Gendered Polarization and Abortion Policymaking in the States

  • Abigail A. Matthews EMAIL logo , Rebecca J. Kreitzer and Emily U. Schilling
From the journal The Forum

Abstract

Widening, asymmetric polarization is evident in both the U.S. Congress and state legislatures. Recent work unveils a new dimension to this polarization story: newly elected Republican women are driving this polarization. Women are more likely to legislate on women’s issues than men, yet women’s shared interest in representing women doesn’t preclude their identity as partisans. In this article, we explore the effect of today’s political climate on state legislators’ policy representation of women’s issues. We ask what effect does gendered polarization have on women’s issues? To test this, we evaluate bill sponsorship in the states on the quintessential “women’s issue” of abortion. Our research design focuses on bill introductions and uses on an original dataset of pro- and anti-abortion rights bill introductions, which we analyze using an event count model. We find that overall polarization leads to the introduction of fewer restrictive abortion bills, but as polarization between women lawmakers grows, legislators are more likely to introduce anti-abortion rights legislation. Gender polarization has consequences on the types of bills legislators introduce and for how scholars should study polarization.


Corresponding author: Abigail A. Matthews, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, USA, E-mail:

Appendix

Table A1:

Data sources.

VariableMeasurementSource
Gender polarizationDifference between median Democrat women and median Republican women across both chambersShor and McCarty 2011
Legislative polarizationDifference between median Democrat and median Republican across both chambersShor and McCarty 2011
Any type of women’s caucus1 = any form of a women’s caucus in the state 0 = no women’s caucus in the stateMahoney 2018
Republican control of legislatureIndicator variable for unified Republican control of the legislature for the anti-abortion rightsKlarner et al. 2013
Democrat control of legislatureIndicator variable for unified Democratic control of the legislature for the pro-abortion rightsKlarner et al. 2013
Percent democratic women in legislaturePercent Democratic Women in LegislatureCAWP 2001
Percent republican women in legislaturePercent Republican Women in LegislatureCAWP 2001
State ideologyState Government Ideology, 1960–2017

% of Presidential Vote Share – Bush 2000
Berry et al. 2013, 1998
Wright, Osborn,Winburn 2004
Table A2:

Polarization over time.

Gender polarization
200020052010
Min.0.5270.1170.414
Mean1.3501.3891.531
Max.2.7042.7123.27
Legislative polarization
200020052010
Min.0.4530.4530.516
Mean1.2311.2311.483
Max.2.6532.6533.165

References

Atkinson, M. L. 2020. “Gender and Policy Agendas in the Post-War House.” Policy Studies Journal 48 (1): 133–56, https://doi.org/10.1111/psj.12237.Search in Google Scholar

Baumgartner, F. R., V. Gray, and D. Lowery. 2009. “Congressional Influence on State Lobbying Activity.” Political Research Quarterly 2: 552–67, https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912908322407.Search in Google Scholar

Beckwith, K., and K. Cowell-Meyers. 2007. “Sheer Numbers: Critical Representation Thresholds and Women’s Political Representation.” Perspectives on politics 5 (3): 553–65, https://doi.org/10.1017/s153759270707154x.Search in Google Scholar

Berkman, M. B., and R. E O’connor. 1993. “Do Women Legislators Matter? Female Legislators and State Abortion Policy.” American Politics Quarterly 21 (1): 102–24, https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673x9302100107.Search in Google Scholar

Berry, W. D., E. J. Ringquist, R. C. Fording, and R. L. Hanson. 1998. “Measuring Citizen and Government Ideology in the American states, 1960-93.” American Journal of Political Science: 327–48, https://doi.org/10.2307/2991759.Search in Google Scholar

Berry, W. D., R. C. Fording, E. J. Ringquist, R. L Hanson, and C. Klarner. 2013. “A New Measure of State Government Ideology, and Evidence that Both the New Measure and an Old Measure are Valid.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 13 (2): 164–82, https://doi.org/10.1177/1532440012464877.Search in Google Scholar

Binder, S. A. 1999. “The Dynamics of Legislative Gridlock, 1947–96.” American Political Science Review 93 (3): 519–33, https://doi.org/10.2307/2585572.Search in Google Scholar

Binder, S. A., and F. Maltzman. 2002. “Senatorial Delay in Confirming Federal Judges, 1947-1998.” American Journal of Political Science: 190–99, https://doi.org/10.2307/3088422.Search in Google Scholar

Bratton, K. A. 2005. “Critical Mass Theory Revisited: The Behavior and Success of Token Women in State Legislatures.” Politics & Gender 1 (1): 97–125, https://doi.org/10.1017/s1743923x0505004x.Search in Google Scholar

Bratton, K. A., and K. L Haynie. 1999. “Agenda Setting And Legislative Success in State Legislatures: The Effects of Gender and Race.” The Journal of Politics 61 (3): 658–79, https://doi.org/10.2307/2647822.Search in Google Scholar

Bratton, K. A., and L. P Ray. 2002. “Descriptive Representation, Policy Outcomes, and Municipal day-care Coverage in Norway.” American Journal of Political Science: 428–37, https://doi.org/10.2307/3088386.Search in Google Scholar

Butler, D. M. 2009. “The Effect of the Size of Voting Blocs on Incumbents’ Roll-Call Voting and the Asymmetric Polarization of Congress.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 34 (3): 297–318, https://doi.org/10.3162/036298009788897763.Search in Google Scholar

Caiazza, A. 2004. “Does women’s Representation in Elected Office Lead to Women-friendly policy? Analysis of State-level Data.” Women & Politics 26 (1): 35–70, https://doi.org/10.1300/j014v26n01_03.Search in Google Scholar

Carroll, S. J. 1992. Women State Legislators, Women’s Organizations, and the Representation of Women’s Culture in the United States: na.Search in Google Scholar

CAWP. 2001. Women State Legislators: Past, Present and Future.Search in Google Scholar

Cowell-Meyers, K., and L. Langbein. 2009. “Linking Women’s Descriptive and Substantive Representation in the United States.” Politics & Gender 5 (4): 491–518, https://doi.org/10.1017/s1743923x09990328.Search in Google Scholar

Dittmar, K., K. Sanbonmatsu, and S. J. Carroll. 2018. A Seat at the Table: Congresswomen’s Perspectives on why Their Presence Matters: Oxford University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Dodson, D. L. 1995. Voices, Views, Votes: The Impact of Women in the 103rd Congress: Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.Search in Google Scholar

Dodson, D. L., and S. J. Carroll. 1991. Reshaping the Agenda: Women in State Legislatures: Report: Center for the American Woman and Politics (CAWP): Eagleton Institute of.Search in Google Scholar

Dolan, J. 1998. “Support for Women’s Interests in the 103rd Congress: The Distinct Impact of Congressional Women.” Women & Politics 18 (4): 81–94, https://doi.org/10.1300/j014v18n04_05.Search in Google Scholar

Frederick, B. 2009. “Are Female House Members Still more Liberal in a Polarized Era? The Conditional Nature of the Relationship between Descriptive and Substantive Representation.” Congress & the Presidency, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203864616.Search in Google Scholar

Frederick, B. 2010. “Gender and Patterns of Roll Call Voting in the US Senate.” Congress & the Presidency.10.1080/07343460903390711Search in Google Scholar

Frederick, B. 2011. “Gender Turnover and Roll Call Voting in the US Senate.” Journal of Women, Politics & Policy 32 (3): 193–210, https://doi.org/10.1080/1554477x.2011.589281.Search in Google Scholar

Fridkin, K. L., and P. J. Kenney. 2014. “How the Gender of US Senators Influences People’s Understanding and Engagement in Politics.” The Journal of Politics 76 (4): 1017–1031, https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022381614000589.Search in Google Scholar

Garand, J. C. 2010. “Income Inequality, Party Polarization, and Roll-call Voting in the US Senate.” The Journal of Politics 72 (4): 1109–28, https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022381610000563.Search in Google Scholar

Hawkesworth, M., K. J. Casey, K. Jenkins, and K. E. Kleeman. 2001. Legislating by and for Women.Search in Google Scholar

Hetherington, M., and J. Weiler. 2018. Prius Or Pickup?: How the Answers to Four Simple Questions Explain America’s Great Divide: Houghton Mifflin.Search in Google Scholar

Highton, B., and M. S. Rocca. 2005. “Beyond the Roll-call arena: The Determinants of Position Taking in Congress.” Political Research Quarterly 58 (2): 303–16, https://doi.org/10.1177/106591290505800210.Search in Google Scholar

Hogan, R. E. 2008. “Sex and the Statehouse: The Effects of Gender on Legislative Roll-call Voting.” Social Science Quarterly 89 (4): 955–68, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6237.2008.00593.x.Search in Google Scholar

Holman, M. 2014. Women in politics in the American city: Temple University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Holman, M. R., and A. Mahoney. 2018. “Stop, Collaborate, and Listen: Women’s Collaboration in US State Legislatures.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 43 (2): 179–206, https://doi.org/10.1111/lsq.12199.Search in Google Scholar

Iyengar, S., G. Sood, and Y. Lelkes. 2012. “Affect, Not Ideologya Social Identity Perspective on Polarization.” Public opinion quarterly 76 (3): 405–31, https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfs038.Search in Google Scholar

Iyengar, S., Y. Lelkes, M. Levendusky, N. Malhotra, and S. J. Westwood. 2019. “The Origins and Consequences of Affective Polarization in the United States.” Annual Review of Political Science 22: 129–46, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-051117-073034.Search in Google Scholar

Jochim, A. E., and B. D. Jones. 2013. “Issue Politics in a Polarized Congress.” Political Research Quarterly 66 (2): 352–69, https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912912448930.Search in Google Scholar

Kane, K. A., R. Kreitzer, U. S. Emily, and J. Allan. 2019. “Whose Opinion Matters? The Role of Elite Actors and Interest Gropus on Setting the Abortion Agenda.” In Interest Group Politics, edited by A. J. Cigler, B. A. Loomis, and A. J. Nownes, 10th ed.: CQ Press. .Search in Google Scholar

Kanthak, K., and G. A. Krause. 2012. The Diversity Paradox: Political Parties, Legislatures, and the Organizational Foundations of Representation in America. USA: OUP.10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199891726.001.0001Search in Google Scholar

Klarner, C., W. Berry, T. Carsey, M. Jewell, R. Niemi, L. Powell, and J. Snyder. 2013. “State Legislative Election Returns (1967-2010).” Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), https://doi.org/10.3886/icpsr34297.v1.Search in Google Scholar

Kreitzer, R. J. 2015a. “Politics and Morality in State Abortion Policy.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 15 (1): 41–66, https://doi.org/10.1177/1532440014561868.Search in Google Scholar

Kreitzer, R. J. 2015b. Policy Making at The Margins: The Modern Politics of Abortion.10.17077/etd.pwpqvt1gSearch in Google Scholar

Layman, G. C., and T. M. Carsey. 2002. “Party Polarization and “Conflict Extension” in the American Electorate.” American Journal of Political Science: 786–802, https://doi.org/10.2307/3088434.Search in Google Scholar

Layman, G. C., T. M. Carsey, and J. M. Horowitz. 2006. “Party Polarization in American Politics: Characteristics, Causes, and Consequences.” Annu. Rev. Polit. Sci. 9: 83–110, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci.9.070204.105138.Search in Google Scholar

Lee, F. E. 2009. Beyond Ideology: Politics, Principles, and Partisanship in the US Senate: University of Chicago Press.10.7208/chicago/9780226470771.001.0001Search in Google Scholar

Levendusky, M. 2009. The Partisan Sort: How Liberals became Democrats and Conservatives became Republicans: University of Chicago Press.10.7208/chicago/9780226473673.001.0001Search in Google Scholar

MacDonald, J. A., and E. E. O’Brien. 2011. “Quasi-Experimental Design, Constituency, and Advancing Women’s Interests: Reexamining the Influence of Gender on Substantive Representation.” Political Research Quarterly 64 (2): 472–86, https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912909354703.Search in Google Scholar

Mahoney, A. M. 2018. Women Take their Place in State Legislatures: The Creation of Women’s Caucuses: Temple University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Mann, T. E., and N. J. Ornstein. 2016. It’s Even Worse than it Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the New Politics of Extremism: Basic Books.Search in Google Scholar

Mason, L. 2018. “Ideologues without Issues: The Polarizing Consequences of Ideological Identities.” Public Opinion Quarterly 82 (S1): 866–87, https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfy005.Search in Google Scholar

Mayhew, D. R. 2001. “Observations on Congress: The Electoral Connection a Quarter Century after Writing it.” PS, Political Science & Politics 34 (2): 251, https://doi.org/10.1017/s1049096501000427.Search in Google Scholar

McCarty, N. 2007. “The Policy Effects of Political Polarization.” The transformation of American politics: Activist government and the rise of conservatism: 223–55, https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400837502-013.Search in Google Scholar

McCarty, N. 2015. “Reducing Polarization by Making Parties Stronger.” Solutions to political polarization in America 136: 143.10.1017/CBO9781316091906.009Search in Google Scholar

McCarty, N., K. T. Poole, and H. Rosenthal. 2006. Polarized America: The Dance of Political Ideology and Unequal Riches. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Search in Google Scholar

McCarty, N., J. Rodden, B. Shor, C. Tausanovitch, and C. Warshaw. 2019. “Geography, Uncertainty, and Polarization.” Political Science Research and Methods 7 (4): 775–94, https://doi.org/10.1017/psrm.2018.12.Search in Google Scholar

McDermott, M. L. 1997. “Voting Cues in Low-Information Elections: Candidate Gender as a Social Information Variable in Contemporary United States Elections.” American Journal of Political Science: 270–83, https://doi.org/10.2307/2111716.Search in Google Scholar

Osborn, T. L. 2012. How Women Represent Women: Political Parties, Gender and Representation in the State Legislatures: Oxford University Press.10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199845347.001.0001Search in Google Scholar

Osborn, T. L., and J. K. Rebecca. 2014. “Women State Legislators:Women’s Issues in Partisan Environments.” In Women and Elective Office: Past, Present, and Future, edited by S. Thomas, and C. Wilcox: Oxford University Press.10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199328734.003.0011Search in Google Scholar

Osborn, T., R. J. Kreitzer, E. U. Schilling, and J. H. Clark. 2019. “Ideology and Polarization Among Women State Legislators.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 44 (4): 647–80, https://doi.org/10.1111/lsq.12243.Search in Google Scholar

Pacheco, J., and G. Boushey. 2014. “Public Health and Agenda Setting: Determinants of State Attention to Tobacco and Vaccines.” Journal of health politics, policy and law 39 (3): 565–89, https://doi.org/10.1215/03616878-2682612.Search in Google Scholar

Palmer, B., and D. Simon. 2010. Breaking the Political Glass Ceiling: Women and Congressional Elections: Routledge.10.4324/9780203932117Search in Google Scholar

Pitkin, H. F. 1967 The Concept of Representation, Vol. 75: Univ of California Press.10.1525/9780520340503Search in Google Scholar

Poole, K. T., and H. Rosenthal. 2000. Congress: A Political-economic History of Roll Call Voting: Oxford University Press on Demand.Search in Google Scholar

Reingold, B. 2000. “Representing Women: Sex.” Gender, and Legislative Behavior in.Search in Google Scholar

Reingold, B. 2003. Representing Women: Sex, Gender, and Legislative Behavior in Arizona and California: Univ of North Carolina Press.Search in Google Scholar

Reingold, B. 2008. “Women as Office Holders: Linking Descriptive and Substantive Representation.” Political women and American democracy 9: 128–47.10.1017/CBO9780511790621.011Search in Google Scholar

Reingold, B., R. Kreitzer, T. Osborn, and M. L. Swers. forthcoming. “Antiabortion Policymaking and Women’s Representation.” Political Research Quarterly.Search in Google Scholar

Saint-Germain, M. A. 1989. Does Their Difference Make a Difference? The Impact of Women on Public Policy in Arizona Legislature. .Search in Google Scholar

Sanbonmatsu, K., and K. Dolan. 2009. “Do Gender Stereotypes Transcend Party?.” Political Research Quarterly 62 (3): 485–94, https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912908322416.Search in Google Scholar

Schwindt-Bayer, L. A., and R. Corbetta. 2004. “Gender Turnover and Roll-Call Voting in the US House of Representatives.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 29 (2): 215–229, https://doi.org/10.3162/036298004x201159.Search in Google Scholar

Shaw, D. 2012. If Everyone Votes their Party, Why Do Presidential Election Outcomes Vary so Much?: The Forum.10.1515/1540-8884.1519Search in Google Scholar

Shor, B., and N. McCarty. 2011. “The Ideological Mapping of American Legislatures.” American Political Science Review 105 (3): 530–551, https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003055411000153.Search in Google Scholar

Sinclair, B. 2008. Orchestrators of Unorthodox Lawmaking: Pelosi and McConnell in the 110th Congress: The Forum, https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230584242.Search in Google Scholar

Swers, M. L. 2002. The Difference Women Make: The Policy Impact of Women in Congress: University of Chicago Press.10.7208/chicago/9780226772738.001.0001Search in Google Scholar

Swers, M. L. 2013. Women in the club: Gender and policy making in the senate: University of chicago Press.10.7208/chicago/9780226022963.001.0001Search in Google Scholar

Swers, M. L., and S. M. Rouse. 2011. “Descriptive Representation: Understanding the Impact of Identity on Substantive Representation of Group Interests.” The Oxford Handbook of the American Congress.10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199559947.003.0011Search in Google Scholar

Thomas, S. 1994. How Women Legislate: Oxford University Press on Demand.Search in Google Scholar

Thomas, S., L. Rickert, and C. Cannon. 2006. “The Meaning, Status, and Future of Reproductive Autonomy: The Case of Alcohol use During Pregnancy.” UCLA Women’s LJ 15: 1.10.5070/L3151017791Search in Google Scholar

Thomsen, D. M. 2015. “Why so Few (Republican) Women? Explaining the Partisan Imbalance of Women in the US Congress.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 40 (2): 295–323, https://doi.org/10.1111/lsq.12075.Search in Google Scholar

Wolbrecht, C. 2002. “Explaining Women’s Rights Realignment: Convention Delegates, 1972–1992.” Political Behavior 24 (3): 237–82, https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1021872508054.10.1023/A:1021872508054Search in Google Scholar

Wolf, M. R., J. C. Strachan, and D. M. Shea. 2012. “Incivility and Standing Firm: A Second Layer Of Partisan Division.” PS: Political Science & Politics 45 (3): 428–34, https://doi.org/10.1017/s1049096512000509.Search in Google Scholar

Wright, G., T. Osborn, and J. Winburn. 2004. “Parties and Representation in the American Legislatures.” Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association. Chicago: April.Search in Google Scholar

Published Online: 2020-09-21

© 2020 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Downloaded on 30.11.2023 from https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/for-2020-1003/html
Scroll to top button