A Political Opportunity for Women

Excerpt:
The following is from the Oct. 7, 2006, edition of The Washington Post.

By Anushka Asthana
Staff Writer
The Washington Post

Geraldine A. Ferraro made history in 1984 as the first woman to run for vice president on a major-party ticket. Twenty-two years later, she wishes she was no longer in a club of one.

"I thought it would have happened by now," Ferraro said with a sad note in her voice as she looked down at a room packed with more than 600 people, young and old, at the University of Virginia last month. . .

The Democrat's appearance that night was part of a drive by U-Va.'s Center for Politics to inspire young women to get involved in politics. Its director, Larry J. Sabato, described Ferraro as a "trailblazer for the United States of America" . . .

In fact, this year may prove to be a major breakthrough for women in Congress, according to experts at the university. Sabato's Crystal Ball, a Web page that provides analysis of House and Senate races around the country, is predicting that 2006 could be the best year for women in 14 years.

In a conservative scenario, according to the Crystal Ball, female candidates would gain nine seats in the House -- the largest rise since the Year of the Woman in 1992, when the number of women in Congress jumped from 32 to 54.

"There is going to be a net gain in the House for women," agreed Dennis Simon, a professor at Southern Methodist University and co-author of "Breaking the Political Glass Ceiling." But there is still a "gender gap in running for office," he said.

With co-author Barbara Palmer, of the Women & Politics Institute at American University, Simon looked at which jurisdictions tend to be most and least friendly to women. Topping the list of those most likely to vote for female candidates are New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles. At the other end are Gadsden, Ala., and Paducah and Bowling Green, Ky.

Districts that elect women, according to Simon, tend to be "upscale -- more degrees, more professionals, urban." Those less likely, he added, are "more rural, lower-income and more traditional."

Simon said female candidates are often seen as more liberal than they actually are -- as in the case of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). But her possible presidential candidacy, and the speculation that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice might be a presidential candidate in 2008 or later, has shifted perceptions about the plausibility of a female president.

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