Week 5 Assignment: Representation in Congress
Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
- Textbook: Chapters 11, 12
- Lesson
- Minimum of 2 scholarly sources in addition to the textbook.
Instructions
Research the proportion of women, African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and openly gay or lesbian members of Congress.
- Reflect on what these patterns say about the nature of representation.
- Why do some groups tend to be underrepresented in Congress?
- Why do you see a trend in which more women and minorities are being represented?
- Do you think the underrepresentation of women and minorities affects Congress’s business?
- How might we as a people address this situation and strive towards equal representation? Make sure to cite the sources used.
Week 5 Assignment: Representation in Congress
Research the proportion of women, African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and openly gay or lesbian members of Congress.
1. Reflect on what these patterns say about the nature of representation.
Based on the representation of Women in Congress mainly brings on a detailed idea about the Congressional agenda with a new issue that is related to the lives of Women. Apart from this, this analysis is mainly based on seeking a priority that is based on the persistence to work and keep up the agenda. Therefore, it is the belief of women based on different perspectives that men can work in political organizations under Congress because of their liberal life experiences. Moreover, this brings a further sense to bear the lens on various issues, which might not be commonly considered women’s issues (Arden et al. 2017).
Women held a position in Congress while taking pride in their constituencies, based on the power and effectiveness to learn about Congress. Therefore, women of color in Congress have been arguing to learn about the perspectives of the legislative process. In the present to make them educated about the different communities. Hence, the perspectives are based on women in the societal roles of being a mother, and daughter, and having to work for the household. Thus, they have been sharing, on the life experiences, their roles, and their ability to represent women in a distinctive perspective to bear the Congressional work.
2. Why do some groups tend to be underrepresented in Congress?
According to a study, which mainly depicts the criteria that are faced within society, politics is where work is done alongside race. This is based on the note of the determinants to possess formal and informal resources in order to gain opportunities to learn the critical achievements to win the election. Women’s office has developed a shape with the changes in the law, the policy and perhaps gaining the social roles in the activities to build up the social movement, under the political parties and within the organization. The underrepresentation in Congress can be deprived of inextricability, which is linked with the political parties that are inclined toward the conservatives that actually tend to favor men while believing that women are considered to be the weaker section of society (Sanbonmatsu, 2020). Political institutions, contrary to the political party, can understand the campaign to denote the actors, the voters, or to be a donor who is actually biased against the women, that withhold the support to result in societal expectation roles of women. Therefore, the language based on the election reinforces the cultural expectations and political characteristics of the masculine space.
3. Why do you see a trend in which more women and minorities are being represented?
Based on the analysis to learn about political parties with an underrepresentation affords and the opportunities to set up a debate of the parties that needs gender diversity and inclusion. Hence, women in Congress are based on the ability to inspire and encourage based on women in the long run based on the office to learn about the majority. This sentiment is mainly based on the transcends of the party, to understand racial or ethnic style. Therefore, Women in Congress have a view of the roles of the women who are often encouraged to get involved in political parties.
4. Do you think the underrepresentation of women and minorities affects Congress’s business?
In my opinion, I think that it happens to date, because of the crafting laws, that are based on the underrepresentation of the effect of time. Therefore, both women and children are often considered to be minorities as they are considered vulnerable groups. Collective efforts create a hard effect so that they can achieve the concerns to represent. For example, this can eventually build up domestic violence against women. Apart from this, Congress is mainly based on male dominance, which created a hard lobby, that has been created to protect the women as well as the children. Therefore, minorities based on the account of race that voices are often amplified under the cases to be discriminated against while the existence is to access opportunities (Sanbonmatsu, 2020).
5. How might we as a people address this situation and strive towards equal representation?
Women in Congress have usually the staunchest advocates for the policies to learn about the women in the group. Women in Congress mainly provide representation mainly beyond their states and the districts that are based on the ideas while representing women. Therefore, for this reason, there are a large number of Congresswomen, who have been claiming to the result-oriented with their emphasis on their achievements which is concerned with the policy and the outcomes that are connected with the outcomes to receive publicity or gain credit (Fraga & Hassell, 2021). Equal representation is mainly based on the ideologies that may follow participation in civic activities, that followed in an election about the candidates who are represented the minorities that can plight the women to reach a certain platform. However, to spread awareness based on representation and give their voice on essential topics like democracy. Hence, all are required to be informed about the social issue so that they can advocate themselves under equal representation to voice over them, as minorities shall be amplified.
References
Arden, W., Grofman, B., & Handley, L. (2017). The impact of redistricting on African-American representation in the US Congress and state legislatures in the 1990s. Race and Representation, 35-43.
Fraga, B. L., & Hassell, H. J. (2021). Are minority and women candidates penalized by party politics? Race, gender, and access to party support. Political Research Quarterly, 74(3), 540-555.
Sanbonmatsu, K. (2020). Women’s Underrepresentation in the US Congress. Daedalus, 149(1), 40-55.
