A Seat at the Table by Kira Sanbonmatsu, Paperback | Indigo Chapters

The presence of women in Congress is at an all-time high - approximately one of every five members is female - and record numbers of women are running for public office for the 2018 midterms. At the same time, Congress is more polarized than ever, and little research exists on how women inCongress view their experiences and contributions to American politics today. Drawing on personal interviews with over three-quarters of the women serving in the 114th Congress, the authors analyze how these women navigate today's stark partisan divisions, and whether they feel effective in theirjobs. Unlike other studies of women in Congress, this book avoids looking at gender in a vacuum, instead considering how gender interacts with political party, race and ethnicity, seniority, chamber, and district characteristics to shape women's representational influence and behavior. Through first-person perspectives, A Seat at the Table looks at what motivates these women's legislative priorities and behavior, details the ways in which women experience service within a male-dominated institution, and highlights why it matters that women sit in the nation's federal legislativechambers. It describes the strategies women employ to "slog through" any challenges they confront as well as the opportunities available to them. Importantly, the book looks at the myriad ways in which different women's representation matters, beyond gender dichotomies and "women's issues" - findingthat two of the most complicating factors to a singular narrative of women's congressional representation are party and race and ethnicity. While their perspectives, experiences, and influence are neither uniform nor interchangeable, congresswomen believe their presence matters in myriad ways, affecting congressional culture, priorities, processes, debates, and outcomes. | A Seat at the Table by Kira Sanbonmatsu, Paperback | Indigo Chapters