It Doesn't Matter: Some Cautionary Findings About Sex and Representation From School Committee Conversations

One of the most important findings in the field of gender and politics is that women elected officials at the state and national levels do a better job than men of representing the interests of women, children, and families. This paper uses school committees to ask the same question about women elected officials at the local level. Thus the question that guides this paper is: Does it matter for women if women are elected to this local political institution? If it does matter, then we should “hear” women's distinct ways of participating through their discussions at committee meetings. The study finds, in contrast, that in this political institution women and men behave in remarkably similar ways when separated by committee roles, and that women elected officials in this political institution spend very little time addressing issues affecting girls in public education.