Since 1916, when the first woman was elected to the US Congress, fewer than 10 percent of all members have been women. Why is this number so extraordinarily small?  

In Women & Congressional Elections, Barbara Palmer and Dennis Simon combine  data on nearly 40,000 candidates and colorful stories from the campaign trail in a thorough accounting of the performance of women in US House and Senate elections.  They show how the "rules of the game"—together with an important cluster of demographic characteristics that can make a district more or less "women friendly"—have shaped opportunities for female candidates across a century of US history.