This book provides a critical synthesis of scholarly research on women in American politics.

Christina Wolbrecht is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Director of the Program of American Democracy at the University of Notre Dame. Her book, The Politics of Women's Rights: Parties, Positions, and Change (2000), was recipient of the 2001 Leon Epstein Outstanding Book Award from the American Political Science Association (Political Organizations and Parties Section). She has published articles in many journals, including the American Journal of Political Science and the Journal of Politics.

1. Introduction: what we saw at the Revolution: women in American politics and political science Christina Wolbrecht; 2. Gender as a category of political analysis in American political development Gretchen Ritter; 3. Gender, public opinion, and political reasoning Leonie Huddy, Erin Cassese, and Mary-Kate Lizotte; 4. Gender in the aggregate, gender in the individual, gender and political action Nancy Burns; 5. What revolution? Incorporating intersectionality in women and politics Jane Junn and Nadia Brown; 6. Women's movements and women in movements: influencing American democracy from the 'outside'? Lee Ann Banaszak; 7. Representation by gender and parties Kira Sanbonmatsu; 8. Women as candidates in American politics: the continuing impact of sex and gender Kathleen Dolan; 9. Women as office holders: linking descriptive and substantive representation Beth Reingold; 10. Theorizing women's representation in the United States Suzanne Dovi; 11. Political women in comparative democracies: a primer for Americanists Lisa Baldez; Conclusion: between participation and representation: political women and democracy in the United States Karen Beckwith.