SUPPORT FOR WOMENS INTERESTS IN THE 103RD CONGRESS - THE DISTINCT IMPACT OF CONGRESSIONAL WOMEN

During 1992, the widely acclaimed ''Year of the Woman,'' 48 women were elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Since research at the s tate level finds women legislators more likely to advocate women's int erests than their male colleagues, this influx of women offers an oppo rtunity to investigate whether congressional women provide similar pol icy responsiveness to American women. Using Ordinary Least Squares (OL S) regression on roll-call data for the 103rd Congress, I find that wo men members of Congress are more likely than their male counterparts t o vote for women's interests on the floor of the House of Representati ves.