Gender and Roll Call Voting in the New York State Assembly

Abstract Does descriptive representation based on gender translate into the substantive representation of women? By examining roll call votes for the New York State Assembly for the 1993 legislative session, this article investigates whether female state legislators actually are more supportive of women's issues than are their male colleagues. Findings reveal that female legislators are no more likely than males to view women as a specific constituency when voting on issues regarding women, children, and the family. Instead, both female and male legislators included in this study are responding to cues provided from their political party and their electoral constituency when voting on women's issues. Key Words: Women legislatorslegislatorsvoting behaviorsex differencesrepresentationdescriptive vs. substantive