Structure and representation at the local level : the relative effects for male and female city council members

This research examines the differences in the effects of municipal electoral structure on male versus female city council members. The question guiding this research is one of election versus performance. Two research hypotheses are advanced:

RHl; More women are elected to reformed city councils than are elected to unreformed city councils.

RH2: Female city council members perform better under unreformed electoral and governing structures.

First, this research examines how a city's electoral structure (i.e., city size, city type, election type, and type of race) affects the descriptive representation (i.e., income and educational attainment) of the men and women elected to city council. I hypothesize that male and female city council members will be drawn from the same high income bracket, regardless of electoral and governing structures. However, I predict that male city council members will be better educated than their female counterparts, regardless of electoral and governing structures.

Second, this study examines council members' representational foci ( i.e.. localized versus city-wide). I hypothesize that female city council members will have a more localized representational focus than their male counterparts, regardless of electoral and governing structures.

Third, this study examines council members' policy predispositions. The policy predisposition category is dichotomized into (1) policy - general orientations (i.e., liberal or conservative), and (2) policy substantive focus (i.e., human services, capital expenditures, and development). It is hypothesized that women will favor human services more than their male colleagues, while men favor capital expenditure and development more than their female colleagues. The data considered in this study is attitudinal data collected from city council members in five Southeastern states (Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee) for cities 25,000 and above population.