Decade sees little change in number of women legislators

TALLAHASSEE -- In Washington, a woman will become the next speaker of the U.S. House.

But when the Florida Legislature starts a new two-year term Tuesday, women lawmakers won't see the same type of gains.

Women will represent 39 districts in the House and Senate, less than a quarter of the 160 seats. That is the same number of districts women represented last year -- and roughly the same number they have held for the past decade.

Lawmakers point to various reasons for the relative lack of women in the Legislature, ranging from family responsibilities to the nastiness of political campaigns.

But they say adding more women lawmakers would offer a different perspective in a Capitol that has always been dominated by men.

"If half the population is women, they're going to have a whole different way of looking at things," said Rep. Dorothy Hukill, a Port Orange Republican who was elected this month to a second term in the House.

Volusia County has four women in its 10-member legislative delegation, including Hukill, Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, Rep. Joyce Cusack, D-DeLand, and Rep. Sandy Adams, R-Orlando.

The issue of women in politics has received extra attention this month as Democrats won enough seats to take control of the U.S. House and install California Rep. Nancy Pelosi as the first woman House speaker.

In Florida, meanwhile, voters elected Democrat Alex Sink as state chief financial officer. She will be the first woman on the Florida Cabinet since 2002.

But the number of women serving in the Legislature has largely stayed flat during the past decade. Though numbers have fluctuated slightly because of mid-term changes in lawmakers, the House and Senate typically have had 37 to 40 women serving at a time.

Women also have been largely shut out of the powerful jobs of House speaker and Senate president, which carry huge amounts of control over which bills get passed and how money is spent.

Republican Toni Jennings served as Senate president from 1996 to 2000, and Democrat Gwen Margolis was president from 1990 to 1992. No women have served as House speaker, and men have already lined up support to serve as speakers through 2012.

Earlier this year, women made up 22.8 percent of state legislators across the country, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

Cusack and Margolis said it is difficult for many women to run for the Legislature if they have children. Lawmakers are in Tallahassee for a 60-day legislative session each spring and also must make periodic trips to the Capitol for committee meetings and other events.

"It's just not easy to leave families," said Margolis, who left the Senate in 1992 but returned in 2002 to represent parts of Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

But lawmakers and a University of Central Florida professor said political factors also play a role. Cusack said, for example, she thinks many women don't want to be part of political campaigns filled with nasty attacks.

"That just turns them off," said Cusack, who recently won a fourth term and is slated to become the second-ranking Democrat in the House. "I think it turns off most women."

Terri Fine, a UCF political science professor, said research points to other factors, including whether parties push to elect women and whether political crises cause voters to look for candidates who are outsiders. She said Florida hasn't had such a crisis.

"That (a crisis) creates opportunities for women to run, because they continue to be perceived as outsiders in politics," Fine said.

Fine said, however, she thinks legislative term limits could provide an opportunity for more women to get elected. Term limits will open about 40 seats in 2008, allowing candidates to run without having to challenge incumbents.

"Timing is very, very important," said Hukill, who won her seat in 2004 when former Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach, could not seek another term.

Despite the relative lack of women in the Legislature, Hukill said she doesn't think that has changed the way issues are handled.

But Fine said many scholars think women who get elected to legislative seats are more likely to be feminists who will cross party lines on "women's issues" like abortion and domestic violence.

Fine and Cusack also said electing more women could change the way the Legislature does business. Fine said some research indicates women lawmakers are more collegial and willing to allow people to speak in committees.

Cusack said she thinks women are better at working together to reach a consensus on issues.

"I think we would get a lot more accomplished if we had more women in the Legislature," she said.

Four women lawmakers have districts that include parts of Volusia County. Here are snapshots of those lawmakers:

Legislative experience: Senator since 2002; served in the House from 1994 to 2002.

Florida lawmakers will meet Tuesday to swear in members and begin a new term. Here is information about women in the new Legislature:

I think men lean toward electing more conservative women. They can (sometimes) tend to be more cohesive on women’s issues, which is why Senator Dole's presidential ambitions fell flat. Men wouldn’t vote for her because she was a gun grabber and closet feminist. The focus now, regardless of gender, needs to be on recruiting quality candidates (preferably those with a strong business background).

2 posted on 11/18/2006 5:28:19 PM PST by BenLurkin ("The entire remedy is with the people." - W. H. Harrison)

I've felt it unfair that women are 52% of the population yet own 100% of the you know what.

3 posted on 11/18/2006 5:28:19 PM PST by Archie Bunker on steroids (We'll stay out of your bedrooms, if you stay out of our children's classrooms.)

Women will represent 39 districts in the House and Senate, less than a quarter of the 160 seats.

That's 39 districts too many.....yeah, I said it.

FMCDH(BITS)

4 posted on 11/18/2006 5:39:36 PM PST by nothingnew (I fear for my Republic due to marxist influence in our government. Open eyes/see)

So?

5 posted on 11/18/2006 5:40:35 PM PST by Dont Mention the War (Giuliani '08: Why not p. o. BOTH sides?)

I've felt it unfair that women are 52% of the population yet own 100% of the you know what.

Shoes?

6 posted on 11/18/2006 5:46:09 PM PST by atomicpossum (Replies must follow approved guidelines or you will be kill-filed without appeal.)

Women won't vote for other women.

It's primal envy; any girl who is slightly richer, more successful, five years younger, or ten pounds lighter..... must die.

I totally disagree. Look at Senator Clinton and all her female fans.

I find your comment quite alarming. It actually sounds like something a Democrat would say.

That is not the issue at all. For many women the last thing on their minds, especially those with children, is politics. We need to get them more interested, so we can increase their turnout.

8 posted on 11/19/2006 10:47:37 AM PST by StilettoRaksha ("Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value." Albert Einstein)

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