Breaking the Political Glass Ceiling: Women and Congressional Elections

Dr. Palmer was a professor of mine at American University and her book captivated my attention and opened my eyes to the many hurdles women in politics face. The many stories that her and Simon captured ever since women had been running for office were hilarious, heart-breaking, and inspiring. Their presentation of the data on advantages incumbents have demystifies why only 16% of the seats in the US House as well as the US Senate are held by women. This book should be read by everyone, but especially by those who wish to see a more equal representation in Washington!

This extraordinary book is the most important book on women and congressional elections ever published. No other scholars have taken such a detailed and longitudinal look at women's fortunes running for the U.S. Congress and have posed so many essential, timely and important questions all in one place. This book is extremely well written and will be of interest to practitioners and academics alike. The book is remarkable in a number of ways. First, Palmer and Simon's emphasis on the different campaign experiences of Democratic and Republican women running for Congress is long overdue and much needed. Second, their investigation of primary elections is key. By looking at women's experiences in both the primary and general elections, Palmer and Simon fill an important gap and are sure to spawn a great deal of additional research. Finally, their analysis of woman-against-woman races and their conclusion that female incumbents tend to stimulate female competition is quite astute. They quite convincingly demonstrate that female incumbents are perceived as being weaker than they really are, both by the opposing party and by potential challengers within their own party. This finding is important because it underscores just how uneven the playing field is for female politicians. Palmer and Simon have set a new standard for scholarship on women running for Congress with this book. A must read!

This book presents the most comprehensive data to date about women running for political office in the United States. This is a must-read not only for political science types, but also for the average person interested in women and politics. Palmer and Simon did a great job combining statistics and analysis with personal anecdotes that make the material personal and meaningful. Hopefully, women reading this book will find motivation to take steps to run for office themselves and help this country achieve electoral equality. 51% of the population, 14% of the representation is not enough.