Doctoral Dissertation Research: Women's Ways of Political Leadership: Gender Differences in a Cross-Jurisdictional Study

9409843彼得斯1992年，在美国国会和州立法机构成功赢得席位的妇女人数创历史新高，使这些机构更能代表社会。之前的研究指出了女性和男性公务员之间的政策差异。然而，关于女性的制度影响和政治领导风格的问题在很大程度上尚未得到探讨。州立法机构中妇女人数的稳步上升和任期的延长使这些问题变得容易理解。本博士论文研究项目旨在探讨妇女委员会主席在50个州立法机构的经验。这些目标围绕着三个问题：第一，女性委员会主席在背景、领导行为和观点上是否与男性主席有所不同？第二，与性别相关的领导风格在不同的环境中是如何表达的？第三，随着女性代表人数的增加，性别风格是否会改变制度？343名担任州立法委员会主席的女性代表了一个重要的、规模可观的领导群体，值得研究。这项调查不仅有助于性别见解，而且有助于了解立法委员会的领导行为和跨司法管辖区的概括。该研究包括三个互补的要素：1)对男性和女性委员会主席的调查，2)对女性委员会主席的重点同行小组访谈，以及3)对三个州立法机构的参与观察。由国家科学基金会提供的支持将允许学生承担第二和第三部分。这将大大提高概括调查结果和探讨跨司法管辖区影响的能力。

9409843 Peters In 1992, record numbers of women successfully won seats in the U.S. Congress and in state legislatures, making these institutions more descriptively representative of society. Previous research points to policy differences between female and male officeholders. Largely unexplored, however are questions about the institutional impact and political leadership styles of women. The steady rise in number and the increasing tenure of women in state legislatures now make these questions accessible. This Doctoral Dissertation research project seeks to explore the experiences of women committee chairs in the 50 state legislatures. The objectives revolve around three questions: First, do female committee chairs differ in background, leadership behavior , and outlook from their male counterparts? Second, how are gender-related leadership styles expressed in different settings? Third, as women increase their representation, do gender styles transform institutions? The 343 women chairing state legislative committees represent an important and sizeable leadership cohort to study. This investigation will contribute not only to gender insights but also to knowledge of leadership behavior in legislative committees and cross-jurisdictional generalizations. The research consists of three complementary elements: 1) a survey of male and female committee chairs, 2) focused peer group interviews with women committee chairs, and, 3) participant observation in three state legislatures. The support provided by the National Science Foundation will allow the student to undertake the second and third components. This will greatly enhance the ability to generalize findings from the survey and to explore cross-jurisdictional implications.