Women Candidates: Shattering the Glass Ceiling?(Statistical Data Included)

In 1951, only 10 women held seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, one served in the U.S. Senate, 242 were in the state legislatures and there were no female governors. Fifty years later these numbers have increased to 59 in the House, 13 in the Senate, 1,656 in state legislatures and five governors.

Although still small proportionately, the number of women elected officials has grown for a variety of reasons, including women's strides in education and the workplace, a normative societal shift that accepts women in powerful positions and the growth of influential women's lobbying organizations. This growth has also occurred because more women are running for office, and they are conducting campaigns that are more professional and using their gender as an asset, rather than a liability.

Candidates face a variety of challenges when running for office. First, there are the organizational concerns that define modern campaigns including raising money, assembling a campaign team and attracting press coverage. Neither female nor male candidates have much flexibility with these considerations -- all must assemble the resources needed to wage an effective campaign. In the past, female candidates waged less …