Women, politics and place: Spatial patterns of representation in New Jersey

Geoforum. Vol. 22, No. 2. pp 203.221, 1901 Printed in Great Britain 0 0016-718.5191 $3.00+0.00 IYYI Pergamon Press plc Women, Politics and Place: Spatial Patterns of Representatidn in New Jersey JOANNA REGULSKA,* JOHN TTEFENBACHER.* SUSANA FRIED-i- and New Brunswick, NJ, U.S.A. Abstract: In studying women in local government, the authors argue for giving a greater emphasis to the characteristics of places which elect women rather then focusing solely on economic or psychological/anthropological factors. This hypothesis is tested by examining the characteristics of municipalities which are more likely to elect women to local governmental offices. The authors conclude that the rapid economic and social changes found in new centers of economic control (‘growth corridors’) located outside of the old urban centers in New Jersey create an environment with greater opportunities for women’s participation in the political process. Introduction Current dynamic economic changes are at the root of rapid demographic and social transformations of places. These new socioeconomic conditions open opportunities and challenges for women’s engagement in political life. Greater numbers of femaleheaded households, increasing poverty, changing racial and ethnic composition, and a generally changing level of urbanization, alter the environment in which women live, work and participate in public life. The distinguishing feature of the present study is its primary concern with the characteristics of places which elect women, rather than the characteristics of women who become elected officials. Most studies of women in local government focus on the factors that contribute to the decisions to run for office and the barriers to getting elected (CLARKE and KORNBERG, 1979; GITHENS, 1984; GUGIN, 1986; HANSEN etal., 1976; SCHAUL, 1982). Such studies * Department of Geography and t Department of Urban Planning and Policy Development and Department of Political Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08904, U.S.A. 203 focus primarily on individual women and the differences between female and male candidates and officials. rather than examining structural factors which contribute to the election of women. This predominant focus on political behavior may predispose most researchers to finding political socialization the most important factor in the candidacy and election of women in local government (FLAMMANG, 1984a; FOWLKES, 1984; GITELSON and GITELSON, 1980; KARNIG and WALTER, 1976; MERRITT, 1977; RANDALL, 1987; SAPIRO and FARAH, 1980). Such an individualistic focus tends to preclude an analysis of spatial dimension of social and economic relations. In this study we argue that the growth of new centers of economic control (growth corridors), located outside the old urban centers, constitute a response to changing market conditions and to a new division of labor. We argue further that these broad economic and social changes will affect the composition of places and thus electoral processes and individual choices (DEAR and WOLCH, 1989; FINCHER, 1989; STERNLIEB and SCHWARTZ, 1986; WERKELE and RUTHERFORD, 1989). If characteristics of the place, in addition to those of women G~~)f~~rum/Volume 204 themselves, are crucial to the explanation of women‘s participation in municipal government, then it becomes apparent that the analysis must encompass to a greater extent the socioeconomic characteristics of those places and expose the spatial relationships among them. 22 Number 211991 tional’ factors [see WELCH (lY77) for a detailed description of these ‘factors’]. ‘Structure’ tends to be defined as both socioeconomic conditions and political structure. ‘Situation’ refers primarily to family status and presence or absence of children. ‘Socialization’ includes both general psychological and specifically political socialization. and is assumed to occur on an individual zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUT Icvel. This study follows such a line of investigation, and has several purposes. First, we attempted to identify characteristics of municipalities which are more I’l’kcly In contrast, our research disaggregates ‘structural‘ to elect women to local g~~vernnlent. Second, this variahlcs to the different forms which distiIig~~ish research expanded on the direction taken by Welch. places: level of urbanizati~~ti, c~~l~lp~~siti~~n of Ihe Karnig and Walter. and McManus, and considers municipality and form of municipal political organizadditional variables which could furthor dclincate ation. This implies a critique of those studies conthose places where women’s formal participation in cerned with questions of ‘status and resources’ taken local politics is more likely to take place. Third, we as individual characteristics rather than features wanted to lest the proposition that rapid economic zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHG within a community context. The problem with an a nd so c ia l changes create an environment with individualistic or behavioral standpoint is that it greater opportunities for women’s participation in seems to lead to a primary focus on differences the political process. To this end WC chose to study between female and male clectcd officials as opposed women’s representation in local government in New to the conditions which account for these differences. Jersey as it exemplifies a geographic area uIldergoing Certainly, there does appear to be a general consenrapid economic and social restructurillg. sus that consistent differences exist. First, women Women in Local Government: tists’ View Political Scien- officials tend to be older and less educated than their male counterparts. and have a more cxtcnsive hackground in civic activities (MERRITT, lY77). MERRITT (1077, p. 741) ohserves that: Frequently, when research directly confronts ‘structhe characteristics which dktinguish female winncrh tural’ variables with regard to the election of women from losers---income. appointivc officeholding and civic involvement-differ from the characteristics which disto zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA local government, it is primarily from the perspectinguish male winners from losers-recruiting agent. tive of the women officials, not of the community (CLARKE and KORNBERG, 1979; FLAMTwo other related features have also been ohscrvcd MANG, lY84a; KARNIG and WALTER, 1976: by many: women arc more likely to gain scats with MERRITT, 1977; WELCH, 1977). Thus recent reless prestige and power (WELCH et nl., 1983: KARsearch emphasizes structural factors, but from an NIG and WALTER, 1976), and women view their individual rather than an aggregate perspective. If. role differently than m e n. ANTOLINI (lY84, p. 23) however as ACKELSBERG (1984, p. 255) believes. notes that “Women. much more than men, rcmuch of women’s political consciousness develops sembled the stereotype of the local officeholder as out of participation in networks and as a response to ‘public servant’ rather than as ‘politician’.” However. issues before them, this focus on communities beaccording to ANTOLINI (1984. p. 26). these differcomes particularly important. This presents a doublcenccs diminish when occupational status is conedged question: first, are there features of a commusidered. nity that can be seen to either promote or present barriers to the election of women to local office and. second, what accounts for these features? This reWhile many point to the effects of political socialsearch is concerned, then, with the structure of these ization as the crucial variable, the evidence of the role communities and variations among them. of socialization itself is far from clear. GITHENS While most literature on women in local government has not ignored these factors, it has addressed them from a different perspective. One of the distinguishing features of this literature is the separation of ‘socialization’ factors from ‘structural’ and ‘situa- (1984, p. 47) specifies one of the problems with the ‘socialization’ explanation in commenting that: Gender however. passivity differences in ambition and aspiration may, have less to do with socialization to female or sex-rclle-appropri~It~ behavior than with GeoforumNolume 22 Number 205 211991 women’s rational assessment of how their energies can be best utilized to affect political decisions. This could be highly related to a variety of ‘structural’s features of the community. If prestige of the office is an important determinant along with a variety of ‘demographic’ variables, then the issue of assessment rather that socialization might be critical. For instance, WELCH and KARNIG (1979, p. 485) note that political-structural variables are mildly related correlates of female office holding. In addition, they observe (p. 485): . . . several demographic variables are linked to female council representation. Women are better represented in cities with a higher than average income, educational level, size, with homes that are less likely to be owneroccupied, and finally, in cities where a larger proportion of the females are coilege educated. In another article, WELCH (1977, p. 728) comments that once ‘situational’ (famiIy responsibilities) and structural variables are accounted for, socialization seems insignificant. At the same time, there seems to be some agreement that ‘women’s candidacy is . . . the most powerful influence underlying female participation rates’ (KARNIG and WALTER, 1976). This will lead to a focus on socialization only if one ignores the question of ‘rational assessment’ noted above. And if both ‘rational assessment’ and structural and situational features are important, the critical question becomes one of accounting for the variations among communities. Still, apart from noting a context of broad social change and values, most research has not linked the behavioral and situational features with aggregate structural variables. One exception is that many authors do address the question of ‘political structure.’ The questions of whether the election is partisan or nonpartisan, and whether voting is by ward or at-large are considered to be important issues. Yet, the meaning of these remains contested. WELCH and KARNIG (1979, p. 479) have found that the “electorate views district seats as more desirable than at-large seats-the difference between singlemember and multi-member elections,” indicating that women will do better in at-large elections. However, at-large elections also require more financial and political resources, and could reduce the benefits of women’s community-based activism. In fact, in her study of Santa Clara County, FLAMMANG (1984b, p. 89) found that “the confluence of two developments made Santa Clara County fertile soil for the success of female candidates: environmentalism and district elections.” Similarly, while WELCH and KARNIG (1979, p. 489) note that women do slightly better in partisan elections, there is no general agreement about this. For instance, CLARK zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcb etal. (1984, p. 15.5) observe that, as legislative candidates, nonpartisanship seemed to be a disadvantage to women. This may be accounted for by the difference in a local as opposed to a state election. Or, these differences may be effects of structural variations among communities. As BONAPARTH (1984, p. 279) well describes it: In the study of state and local government, the economic base, the extent of urbanization, the characteristics of the party system and political structures, the population mix and regional culture all affect the nature of the policymaking process and policy outcome. The characteristics of place, therefore, are forces which, to a large extent, influence and determine political choices and electoral outcomes. Place Perspectives The significance of place has been emphasized by many geographers and social scientists; (GIDDENS, 1979; URRY, 1981; MASSEY, 1984; AGNEW, 1987). Notwithstanding the diverse interpretation of its meaning, place represents the geographical expression of social, political, and economic relations. The importance in considering a place perspective for our analysis is reinforced strongly by AGNEW (1987, p. 43), who elaborates: Above all, place is defined as the geographical context or locality in which agency interpellates social structure. Consequently, political behavior is viewed as the product of agency as structured by the historically constituted social contexts in which people live their lives-in a word, places. With the current economic restructuring and the emergence of a post-Fordist economy, place assumes a particularly significant role in the creation of new economic and political realities (STORPER and SCOTT, 1989). Recognizing the importance of these transformations our study puts primary emphasis on determining the effects of changes in the level of urbanization and the composition of the place on the election of women to local government. To reflect these changes, our group of variables called ‘urbanization’ is composed of three indicators: size of the municipality in 1980 and 1986, and ‘the type of the Geoforum/Volume 206 community.’ which signifies the level of urbanization. Some scholars (WELCH er al., 1983) have argued that the size of the community has a positive impact on the character of political activism among women, and it leads to both their increased participation in the labor force and a higher level of political consciousness. This would suggest that the larger the place the greater the likelihood of women being elected to public office. Conversely, Karnig and Walter argue that city size will be inversely related to women’s participation in the elected bodies. The greater prestige attached to holding an elected office in a larger city suggests a reduced likelihood that the office will be occupied by a woman. These results imply that the size of the municipality could reflect the internal complexities of the place. We argue, then, that the size might be an important variable in advancing our knowledge about women’s participation in local politics as it is related to the growth of new economic centers and political realities. In order to further examine the emergence of new industrial spaces we employed a variable classifying municipalities by their level of urbanization. It is important to note that the ‘type of the community’ variable encompasses a rather complex set of charac- Table 1. Type of community The next group of factors, ‘composition of the place’ consists of seven variables chosen in order to reflect educational attainment, and economic, racial, and gender composition of the municipality. This choice represent a synthesis of arguments put forward by several scholars (KRAUSS, 1974; SIGELMAN, 1976; WELCH and KARNIG, 1979; WELCH et al.. 1983). These studies have argued that the level of economic well-being of the community, indicated by income and educational level, increases women’s participation in local politics. They stressed that the based on the degree of urbanization” Definition Major urban center Densely populated communities with extensive commercial and industrial development and population over 100.000 Densely-populated communities with extensive commercial or industrial development with population below 100,000 Communities located near an urban center but not as highly developed. with large residential areas Predominantly single-family residential communities within a short distance of an urban center Rapidly developing communities within a short distance of an urban center Small high-density communities surrounded by other communities which are rural Communities which include a small developed core area and surrounding rural areas Areas of scattered small communities and isolated single-family dwellings Urban-suburban Suburban Suburban-rural Rural center Rural center-rural Rural 2/l 991 teristics (Table 1). Although the element of size is included, its presence is noted only as a division between communities above and below 100,000 inhabitants. The other factors which make up this variable include measures of the population density, distance from an urban center, predominant type of development (commercial, industrial. or residential), and a general indicator of growth. This variable directly emphasizes the results of current economic restructuring in terms of a geographical redistribution of population and economic power. In the course of this transformation, some places become more powerful while the others lose in this competition (AGNEW, 1987). Type of place Urban center 22 Number *Source: authors classification based on data from the Nen Jarw~ Legislurit~c Dnfn Rook (1’388). Bureau of Government Research. GeoforumNolume 22 Number 207 Z/1993 engagement of women in politics is a reflection women’s and the community’s affluence. of We expanded on these studies by acknowledging the changing gender composition of a place. We measured this by two variables: the percent of female-headed households and the percent of women in the municipality. Since one of the most striking demographic changes of the last decade has been the increase in female-headed households, we felt that this social transition should be accounted for in the present work. We argue that this profound change reflects not only the trend towards voluntary singleness and a growing tendency toward individualism, but also other demographic shifts in household composition, i.e. gender differences in life longevity, single parenthood, increased divorce rate. Thus it captures several aspects of the transformation of American society and the changing position of women. We would expect that the places with a greater number of women and femaIe-headed households might not only have women who are willing to run for office, but also are more likely to elect a woman candidate. Although the two variables may be related, we felt that they are sufficiently distinct to include both as measures of the gender composition of the place. We considered the multiracial character of municipalities by including the percentages of Blacks and Hispanics. Several studies (SIGELMAN, 1976; WELCH etai., 1983) have examined the employment of minorities and women in state and local governments, and their representation on city councils. While they found a positive correlation between the size of Hispanic population and Hispanic female employment, this did not lead to greater female political representation of any racial group. On the other hand, Black female employment was found to be strongly related to the representation of the Black population in a community and to total female representation on a council. These results indicate, first, the overall importance of including the racial and ethnic dimension in an analysis, and second, that there are significant differences among ethnic groups. Based on these findings we expect, in our case, that municipalities with a greater proportion of elected female officials will also have a larger Black population, while the impact of the Hispanic population will be less decisive. We have chosen, therefore, characteristics which we believe to be significant components of a municipality and definitive of ‘types’ of place. Finally, based on prior research we accepted the notion that the type of political structure is an important indicator of the probability of women being elected. Hence, the last group of variables distinguishes between types of municipal political organization and is composed of three variables. These are: the municipal election pattern (ward, at-large, and combination); form of municipal government (indicating the specific structure and organization of the local government); and type of election (partisan or nonpartisan). Here we have drawn from the body of political science literature which points to the importance of these variables. As noted above, there appears to be a general agreement that these are important factors, but little agreement as to the level of their significance. For instance, the evidence of the relationship between the election of women to both municipal election pattern and type of election is contradictory. We included these variables both to update prior research and to examine the potential meaning of these factors in the context of place characteristics. Before proceeding with the empirical part of our research, the next two sections provide the background for our case study. The first section describes the status of women in local government in New Jersey, and the second discusses the municipal organization in that state. The Case Study: State of New Jersey zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihg Status of women in local government In 1985 New Jersey ranked twentieth in the nation in the percentage of women mayors and municipal members (CAWP, 1988a). Thus, in terms of the representation of women in local governments across the nation, New Jersey fares relatively, though not extraordinarily, well. In 1985, woman mayors and municipal council members in New Jersey constituted 13.2% of those elected officials, an increase of 112% from 1975 (CAWP, 1988a). However, with regard to the actual number of elected female municipal officials New Jersey ranked fifth in 1975 and eighth in 1985. This pattern, characterized by an initial high level and a moderate increase, can be found in several other states, including California which ranked seventh, with an increase of 111% between 1975 and 1985; Iowa which ranked twenty-second, with an increase of 141%; and Minnesota which ranked twenty-fifth, with an increase of 139% (CAWP, 1988a). The same pattern is repeated in the Tri-State 208 CeoforumiVolume 22 Number 211991 Tafite 2. Women mayors and council members in Tri-State T a ble 3 . Women mayors and govcrn~ng board members, region zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA by county in New Jersey -..-.-“.l.-Women mayors and council members Stare --_.” 1975 I985 Percentage al women (rank among states) Connecticut New Jersey New York 130 X.3 n/a 240 45I 797 18.7 (5) 13.2 (20) 14.4 (I?) Percentage increase 1975-1985 County Women mayors and governing hoard members Percent of municipalities with women mayors and governing board members x5 Ilf 11/a (Table 2). New Jersey ranks lowest in the percentage of women mayors and council members. but second in the absolute number of women officials in 19X5. region Looking specifically at the state, in 1%X women in New Jersey accounted for 9.5% of mayors and ih. 1% of municipaf governing board mcmhers, up from 2.17 in I975 (CAWP, 198%). and 6.5% f respectively, There were 400 women g~~verning board members and mayors in 355 municipalities. or 59.1%. Two hundred and thirty-one municipalitics (40.7%) had at least one locally elected female official. One hundred and four municipalities (18.3%) had two or more. Seven municipalities (I .20/o) had women comprising at least 50% of the governing board. Of these. Audubon Park had the highest perccntagc of women (six out of seven, or 85.7%). Scotch Plains followed, with four out of five (80%), and Hampton Township was third with two out of thrtc (66.7%). County variations map also he observed (Table 3). Thus, Mercer County has the greatest percentage of municipalities with women in local governing bodies, and Warren County has the smallest percentage (for the location of the counties see Figure 1). Bergen County has the greatest number of women in local office, while Cumberland County has the fewest. In all. 57% of the counties have at least one women in 50% or more of the nl~lni~ipalities, New Jersey has 567 municipalities, including cities. towns, townships, boroughs, and villages. The organizational structure of each of these is specific to its type, and the geographic boundaries of each municipality is distinct with regard to local jurisdiction (REOCK and BODNAR, 1985, pp. 4-S). Four cat- egorics of government exists in New Jersey: counties, municipalities, school districts, and special districts. Municipalities may hc classified either by type of InLlni~ipality or by the form of governmental organization. MAST0 and MASTU (1985, p. 29) explain that: Type refers to the name by which the municipality is identified: city. town. township, borough. or village. The type of municipality does not distinguish the pcrwcl and authority of the different municipalities. The organizational form of local government, however. il; related to type of municipality. unless one of sr;ver;~l optional forms has hcen adopted. zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZY Thus, in addition to a municipsf political structure based on type of municipa~it~~ state Iaw also enabtes f~un~~ipaljties to choose between three optional forms of government: the Commission Form of Government Act of 191 I (the Walsh Act), the Municipal Manager Form of Government Act 1923, and the Optional Municipal Charter Law of 19%) (the Faulkner Act). The Faulkner Act includes four optional forms: the Mayor-Council form, the CouncilManager form, the Small Municipality form, and the M~~y~~r-C~)uIlcil-.~~imirlistrat~~r form. Geoforum/Volume 209 22 Number 211991 the part of the municipality to change the form of governmental organization. Two methods can be used to initiate this change: direct petition and the election of a charter study commission. A distinct trend away from the older forms of municipal governmental organization has occurred, as noted by REOCK and BODNAR (1985, p. 83): zyxwvutsrqponmlkji of state’s 566 rnun~~ipa~~t~e~, including 96.3 percent of the state’s population, were served by [City, Town, Borough, Township, Village, ~~~rn~ssion and Special Charters] . . By January 1, 1984, the number of municipalities with older forms of government had dropped to 444 out of 567 but, more importantly, the percentage of New Jersey’s population covered had declined to only 49.7 percent. In contrast, forms of municipal government enacted after 1920 have been adopted by 123 places . . . generally of larger size, including more than half of the state’s population. In EEQ, 5% Figure 1. Administrative divisions of New Jersey: county boundaries. The choice of form of municipal government is also related to population. The Iargest municipalities (population over 25,000) most frequently use the Optional municipal Charter Law (OMCL) MayorCouncil form. Other municipalities with a population over 25,000 have retained the older form, but have added a municipal manager. Among slightly smaller places (population 17,501-25,000), the Township form with a municipal administrator and the OMCL CouncitManager form are most frequent. As the population gets smaller, the Borough form is more frequently used, although often with a municipal manager. Forms of rnu~i~i~a1 organization fall into three broad patterns. First, there may be a directly elected chief The form of government is also related to the type of executive and an elected legislative body. Second, community (see Table 1). A patterned relationship there may be an executive appointed by an elected legislative body. Third, a group of elected officials exists between the range of communities from major urban center to rural to seaside resort. Distinct remay serve as both legislative body and chief executive gional patterns may also be observed (REOCK and in a ‘commission’ or ‘committee.’ zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA In this case, ‘the BODNAR, 1985). responsibility for day-to-day supervision is divided among the individual members of the committee, with each member specializing in some aspect of Since the 1960s New Jersey has been rapidly urbanizmunicipal government’ fp. 15). The size of the legisla- ing, to the extent that it is now one of the most tive body, at-large or ward elections, partisan or urbanized states in the country. One result of this is a nonpartisan elections, length and staggering of terms, shift in municipal governmental structure. Many existence of a ‘presiding’ member called a ‘mayor,’ places have “shifted from part-time, amateur governamong other features, vary from municipality to mental administration to a more fuli-time, promunicipality. fessional approach . . ,” (REOCK and BODNAR, 1985, p. 5). It is with sensitivity to the many forms of, For our purposes, we have designated the ‘optional’ and changes in, municipal government in New Jersey forms (Walsh Act of 1911, 1923 Municipal Manager that we address the question of the relationship beAct, and Faulkner Act of 1950) as ‘political initia- tween the composition of the place and the election of tive.’ Each of these forms requires specific action on women to local government. 210 Data and methods Data used in this study have been drawn from several sources. The U.S. POPULATION AND CENSUS BUREAU (1980) materials provided data on selected racial, gender, and socioeconomic characteristics of all municipalities in New Jersey (n = 567). The information about the types of municipal and political organizations was gathered from the State Legislative District Data Book prepared by the BUREAU OF GOVERNMENT RESEARCH (1988) at Rutgers University. The Center for the American Woman and Politics provided detailed statistics on the representation of females in elected offices at the municipal level, and on the number of female mayors. Finally, both the statistical and cartographic information on changes in New Jersey economic structure were obtained from the Center for Urban Policy Research, Rutgers University. As the data came from various sources, several variables needed to be recoded for the purpose of the statistical analysis. The variables used, their values and sources are presented in Table 4. We used the principal-component method and regression analysis to identify which characteristics of the place are the most important predictors of a higher number of elected women officials. Based on the component scores, the second stage of our analysis examined the geographic distribution of municipalities which are likely to have women on the local governing bodies and those which are less likely to have such representation. Finally, we compared this distribution with the pattern of economic growth corridors and transportation networks in New Jersey. and cartographitally presented the results. Does Place Matter for Women? The initial analysis of the data collected for each of the 567 municipalities in the state of New Jersey included a cross tabulation of all variables with the number of female elected officials. These results indicated that there is a clear set of characteristics which identify the type of place which is more likely to have at least one female elected official. In terms of the first category of variables, urbanization, these municipalities tend to be suburban, rather than urban, and most likely are located within or near growth corridors as identified by STERNLIEB and SCHWARTZ (1986). Some of them are experiencing rapid population change and thus arc probably undergoing internal compositional changes. In re- Geofi~rum/Volume 22 Number 211991 gard to the second set of variables. the composition of the place, the municipalities which have elected female officials can be characterized as middle-income with a large segment of the population having at least a high-school diploma, are equally likely to have or not have a large Black population, but tend to have a small Hispanic population. Finally, with respect to gender, such places have a greater proportion of female-headed households. In order to better identify the cl~aracteristics of places in which women would more likely be elected to a municipal seat, five principai-c~)mp~~nent analysts were performed on several sets and subsets of the data. The purpose of running numerous principalcomponent analyses was to locate those places where the representation of women was a significant distinguishing characteristic. The first run included all variables, except population size which was substituted later by the rate of the population change. Six components were extracted and then rotated (varimax). The results provided an explan~lti(~n for 77.2% of the variance. The components derived from this analysis defined six types of municipalities. The most strongly distinguished were the low-income, poorly educated municipalities with a large proportion of Black population and high percentage of female-headed zyxwvutsrqponmlk ho use holds. A second group of places was described as affluent, well-educated, suburban areas with a higher percentage of females in the population. The third strongest distinguishing factor was the number of female officials combined with a higher percentage of female officials in local government. The fourth and fairly important distinction between municipalities was the level of urbanization. The final two groupings were based on election systems within the municipalities. The fifth component was an analysis selecting those municipalities with a combination of seats serving wards and seats elected at-large. In the past these places were likely to modify the traditional forms of government by creating a new structure. which we called political initiative. The final. and sixth component differentiated between places with only wards and places with only at-large posts. A second principal-component analysis was on only those municipalities (331) with at least one female official. Six components similar to thu previous run were extracted. These explained 79.5% of the variation. In order of strength the descriptors produced were: (1) urbanization; (2) low-income, poorly educated populations with a large minority population; Geofontm/Volume 22 Number 211 211991 Table 4. Variables used in the principal-components analysis Variable Value Source Number of female officials (NUMFEMS) Percent female officials (PCFEMOFF) Female mayor ~FMMA~~R) Urban Total number CAWP” Percentage CAWP/NJLDDBt Rural Rate of population change (PUPRATE) Total females in population (TUTFEMS) Percent femaIe in population (PCFEMSO) Percent black-1980 (PCBSO) Percent Spanish origin-1980 (Pcsoso) Percent female-headed bousehalds (PCFMHSHD) Percent of population with 4 years of high school (FRYRSHS) Per capita income index (PCPII) Percent of population above poverty Ievef (PCABVPOV) At-large Ward Initiative Type of election 0 = no I = yes 4 = major urban center 3 = urban center 2 = urban 1 = urban-suburban 0 = suburban, suburbanrural, rural center, rural 4 = rural 3 = rural center 2 = suburban-rural 1= suburban 0 = urban (4-I above) Percentage change NJLDDB census$ zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZ Total number CiSlSUS Percentage Census Percentage Census Percentage Census Percentage Census Percentage Census Index NJLDDB Percentage Census 0 = wards onIy 1 = at-large only At-large plus wards 0 = at-large only 1 = 2-10 wards 0 = traditional government 1 = optional forms 1 = nonpartisan 2 = partisan NJLDDB CAWP NJLDDB NJLDDB NJLDDB NJLDDB * CAWP = Center for the American Woman and Pohtin, Eagleton institute, Rutgers Wniversity, New Brunswick, NJ. I_NJLDDB = New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Center for Government Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ. $Census = U.S. Census Bureau. well-educated suburban communities; (4) female officials; and (5) and (6) type of election. (3) affluent, The third and fourth component analyses were run on subsets of the data. A seemingly large suburban and rural concentration of municipalities suggested that results may be hidden by overshadowing urban areas. Two subsets were derived from the 567 municipalities: the first analysis incorporated only those places defined as being suburban and rural, while the second was run on the urban municipalities. Similar components with no signiiicant changes were produced. 212 Geoforum/Volume Table 5. Component 22 Number 2/1991 scores > 0.40 Dimension Variable name Socioeconomic race ethnicity Female official status zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONML >illd Growth education corridors Urbanization Representation 0.031 O.Y44 0.580 NUMFEMS PCFEMOFF FMMAYOR Urban Rural POPRATE TOTFEMS PCFEM80 PCB80 PCS080 PCFMHSHD FRYRSHS PCPII PCABVPOV 0.843 -0.YO7 0.779 0.741 O.YOh 0.662 0.410 0.7Y4 -0.632 -0.793 0.434 0.630 0.873 --0.X5X At-large Ward Initiative Eigenvalue Percent of variation 0.199 0.47’) 3.76 22.10 2.76 1.7Y 16.20 10.60 However, the cross tabulations on the municipalities scoring high on the female official component (above 1.0) were revealing when the type of place was considcrcd. The majority of the municipalities were suburban, and classiticd as urban-suburban. suburban-rural. The suburban character of these places seems to play a significant role in the election of women to office. A fifth analysis was performed with the inclusion of a new variable-female mayor. The results of this final run are presented in Table 5. The female mayor variable distinguished between municipalities which had a female mayor and those that did not. This addition was not expected to provide any greater distinction to the analysis, because of its strong correlation with the female officials variable.’ It did, however, give to the female official component a much stronger explanatory power, moved it to the second position, and resulted in the emergence of a new set of municipalities (total of 78) which scored high on the female officials component. Furthermore, a new, fast-growth municipalities component was created, which we called growth corridors and which distinguished places with a high rate of population 1.73 7.x O.Mil 1.10 6.40 I.10 0.40 change, higher numbers of females in population and percentage of Hispanic population. Of the total of 7X such places almost 74% wcrc classified as urbanand suburban-rural. These suburban, suburban, municipalities were also likely to have ward election and have undertaken initiative to change the form ot the government. The next step employed regression analysis. The analysis (run on all municipalities with the number of female officials as the dependent variable) was performed and variables were entered in stepwise fashion. In an effort to deal with concerns of multicollinearity. only certain, select independent variables were involved. A number of demographic variables were utilized: the percents of Blacks and Hispanics. of women and of female-headed households in the population; the total number of females, and the rate of population change from 1980 to 1986. Three indicators of economic status and education level were used: percent per capita income index. percent above poverty, and percent of population with 4 or more years of high school. Two variables described the character of the municipality: urban and rural. In addition four descriptors of municipal politics were Geoforum~olume 22 Number Z/t991 included: at-large and ward voting systems, the political initiative indicator, and the presence or absence of a female mayor. Only in the case of percent above poverty and 4 years of high school was there a fairly high correlation (0.72). The analysis produced an equation with an R of 0.247. The explanatory variables included female mayor (B=-&368f, percentage of female-headed households (B=O.259), and per capita income index (B-0.250). The final equation was as follows: NUMFEMS = -@626(FMMAYOR) + O.OI)l(PCFMHSHD) + 0.723(PCPIX) + 1.06 (constant). It is clear that this is not a good predictor of the potential for the etection of female municipal officials. Future work may focus on the search for other characteristics of municipalities which may further add to the predictive equation. These characteristics may be further functions of the process of growth and economic/structural changes occurring in these places. Other examinations might focus on the possibility of nonlinear relationship providing the best predictive equations. What Matters in Place? Our first variable, population size, was not significantly correlated with the nutnber of elected women. We did not find that a larger population, and therefore the size of the governing body, would lead to a greater number of elected women. Our earlier assumption did not prove to be correct. Further analysis indicated however, that the municipalities with at least one female official ranged in size from 5000 to 80,000. These findings delineate a clear set of middle-size places, with the exception of Paterson which represents the only major urban center. This ambiguous relationship between size of place and the level of women’s participation in local governments convinced us to remove population size from the analysis. We used the type of community variables to explore further patterns of urban growth. Our analysis of places that loaded high on the female official component indicated that t.he great majority of the places which do have women elected to municipal office fall into the categories of urban-suburban, 213 suburban, and suburban-rural communities (for definition of categories see Table 1). These results, then, reconfirm an earlier indication that the places located near urban centers but not as highly developed and with large residential areas (urban-suburban type), and those rapidly developing ones within a short distance of an urban center (suburban-rural type) are more likely to have at teast one woman elected to their public offices. To pursue this finding further we mapped all municipalities which scored very high on the female official component (> 1 .O), and also those which scored very low on this factor (c-0.9). A total of 78 municipalities with high scores and 51 with low scores were included. Tables 6 and 7 list selected characteristics of those municipalities. We further compared the results with the map of economic growth corridors in New Jersey. The final results are presented in Figure 2. The results obtained show a significant spatial relationship between places with female representation in the local government and the areas of intensive economic restructuring. These results suggests that the rise of new industrial organization is accompanied by population growth in selected places. Consequently, these places and those adjacent to them show an increased internal complexity in order to meet new challenges: Where the technical, social and occupational division of labor are far advanced, there will be a corresponding demand for many different skills and human attributes on the part of producers. Under these circumstances, the local population is likely to be heterogenous, both in socio-economic terms and in cultural, ethnic, and racial terms too (STORPER and SCOTT, 1989, p. 33). The New Jersey economic transformation and the emergence of new growth corridors represents a case of such a technologically advanced environment. in their recent study STERNLIEB and SCHWARTZ (1986) stressed the extraordina~ role that recent economic restructuring, as exemplified by the emergence of a quaternary sector (high-tech sector}, played in the decentralization and dispersion of postindustrial growth in New Jersey. The advancements in telecommunications and information processing on one hand, and the rapid growth of employment in industries which can move away from the urban centers (i.e. pharmaceutical, electronics, and petrochemical) on the other, drastically intensified suburban growth. Such growth could not take place unless it is accompanied by the expansion of interstate 214 Geoforum/Volume n t Employment Corridorr Growth t Female Official component score Cmto# raphy by: Y. Siegel 1999 U” Figure 2. 22 Number 20991 zyxwvutsrqpon GeoforumNolume 22 Number Z/1991 215 Table 6. Selected characteristics of municipalities with a high percentage and large number of local female elected officials, including female majors, and with characteristics conducive to the election of female officials County/municipality Type of community* Female mayor Number of women officials Size of council Atlantic County Galloway Port Republic R R 7 Yes zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONML 3 No 5 S Bergen County Dumont Englewood Fairlawn Hasbrouch Heights Leonia Little Ferry Oakland Oradell Rochelle Park u-s OAS u-s u-s u-s u-s S u-s u-s No zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONML No : No 5 Yes 7 7 Yes 7 No Yes 7 Yes 7 5 Yes Burlington County Bordentown Township Easthampton Medford Lakes Westhampton Willingboro S Yes 5 S-R Yes 5 S Yes 3 R Yes zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPON 5 S zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA No 5 Camden County Audubon Park Brooklawn Cherry Hill Gloucester Township Lawnside Lindenwold Magnolia Stratford Woodlynne u-s u-s S S-R S S u-s S u-s Essex County Montclair Orange u-s No 7 4 out zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGF No 3 8 Gloucester Deptford Logan S 7 No 2 R zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA No 3 5 No Yes Yes Yes No NO Yes No Yes 6 2 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 7 7 8 8 7 7 7 7 7 County Hudson County Kearney u-s No Hunterdon County Frenchtown Glen Gardner Hampton Borough Stockton RC R RC RC No 3 7 No 7 2 No 7 1 Yes zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPO 1 7 Mercer County Ewing Hopewell Township Lawrence Princeton Borough Princeton Township 3 9 No zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPO 2 5 No 2 Yes Yes Yes : 4 5 5 7 5 Conl~nue~ on p. 216 216 Geoforum/Volume 22 Number 2/ 1991 Table 6. Cor~tirwd Number of women officials County/municipality Type of community’ Female mayor Middlesex County Helmetta Jamesburg Piscataway South Plaintield s R(‘ S-R s YCS No No No ; 3 s s RC YL‘\ No No I 2 2 Farmingdale s KC Yes No Holmdcl Howell Marlboro Roosevelt Shrewsbury S-R S-R S-R S-R S Yes No No No YCS 7 7 2 2 7 , Monmouth County Belmar Bridle Englishtown Fair Haven Borough 7 -l 2 Size of council 7 7 s 7 3 7 7 7 7 5 5 6 7 7 Morris County Boontan No S Chatham Borough Yes S East Hanover Yes S Jefferson Yes S-R Mendham Township Yt3 S-R Morristown OU< No Mountain Lake\ zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA No S Victory Garden5 S S Yes No Ocean county Lakehurst Pt Pleasant Beach RC’ No , S No ; Pequannock Passaic County Clifton Paterson _ 7 7 7 7 7 IO * MUC‘ = major urban center. OUC = other urban ccntcr. U-S = urban-suburban. S = suburbar;, S-R = suburban-rural. R rural. RC = rural center, RC-R = rural center-rural. highways and a considerable shift in population. From the point of our analysis. these correlations advance the notion that changes in the economic landscape result in structural transformations of space. These changes alter the political environment which may then become more conducive to the election of women to local offices. Composition of thr placr In the previous section we established the fact that there is a concentration of municipalities of a certain size which have women in elected office. The socio- economic composition of places may also prcscnt greater opportunities for women’s participation in local politics. In order to answer this question we will need to look at the second set of variables. Out of scvcn variables describing the composition of the places, two of them-income (PCPII), and female-headed household (PCFMHSHD)-showed some effect in the rcgrcssion analysis. It appca~-s from further examination of the cases that the municipalities which do have more women in elected office arc neither very rich nor very poor. but represent a middle-income group. This finding follows :I previous study which suggested that the political activism 01 GeoforumNolume 22 Number 217 211991 Table 7. Selected officials, including characteristics of municipalities with no local female elected female mayors, and with characteristics which make them unlikely to elect female officials County/municipality Type of community* Female mayor Number of women officials Size of council Atlantic County Buena Margate Ventnor 0 RC-R No 7 3 0 zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUT u-s No 0 u-s zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA 3 No Bergen County Bogota Carlstadt Cliffside Park East Rutherford Emerson Englewood Cliffs Hillsdale Hohokus Lodi North Arlington Ridgefield Ridgefield Park River Edge Rutherford Waldwick Wallington Westwood u-s u-s u-s u-s u-s S u-s u-s u-s u-s u-s u-s u-s u-s u-s u-s u-s 0 7 No zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONM No 7 0 7 0 No 0 7 No No zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONM 0 7 0 7 No 7 No zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJ 0 No 0 7 0 No 8 No zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIH 0 7 0 7 No No 0 5 No 0 7 NO 0 7 7 No 0 No 0 7 0 7 No Camden County Haddon Township u-s No zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJ 0 3 Cape May County West Wildwood S No 0 3 Cumberland Vineland out No 0 6 Essex County Bellsville Maplewood Nutley u-s u-s u-s No No No Gloucester County Westville u-s No 0 7 Hudson County Gutenberg Harrison North Bergen Secaucus Union City Weehawken West New York u-s u-s u-s u-s out u-s u-s No NO No No No No 0 No 0 0 0 0 6 9 5 7 5 5 5 Mercer County Hamilton u-s No 0 6 Middlesex County Carteret Dunellen Perth Amboy u-s u-s out No County 0 7 0 5 0 zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONM 5 0 0 7 0 7 0 No zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA 0 6 No Continued on p. 218 218 Geoforum/Volume 22 Number 2/1991 Table 7. Continued Number of Type of community* Female mayor women officials Size of council u-s u-s No No 0 0 6 7 Monmouth County Long Branch Union Beach OUC S No No 0 0 6 7 Morris County Dover Town u-s NO 0 Y Ocean County Lakewood u-s No 0 5 Passaic County Hawthorne Totowa West Paterson u-s u-s US No No No 0 0 0 3 7 7 Somerset County Manville Raritan Borough u-s u-s No No 0 0 7 7 Union County Westfield S No 0 Y Warren County Phillipsburg u-s No 0 7 County/municipality South Amboy South River “For abbreviations see footnote to Table 6. women is more likely to take place through voluntary work (MERRITT, 1977). The assumption, therefore, that more affluent places will have more elected women proved to be unfounded. This implies that it is not the municipality’s income level, but the amount of income that the individual official has at her or her family’s disposal that is of importance. Another possible explanation is that the officials themselves may represent a very different socioeconomic group than the rest of the municipality, and this in turn may reflect recent economic restructuring and compositional changes in these places. In terms of a racial composition, the importance of our findings lies in the fact that they are in contrast to past research. Similar to the previous studies, our analysis did indicate a negative correlation between the percentage of Hispanics in the municipality and the number of female elected officials. A significant number of places which have a larger Hispanic population were less likely to have women elected to municipal offices. The analysis of the percentage of Black population, on the other hand, indicates a less clear picture. Places with a high number of Blacks are equally likely to have or not have women in office. One possible explanation of this disparity may stem from the redistribution of the Black population in New Jersey. The increasing dispersion of the Black population, away from the central city, was already identified in the 1970s (LAKE. 1981). This suburban increase in the Black population was visible not only in communities adjacent to central cities but also in places further away from urban centers. This deconcentration may then result in a new relationship between the size of the Black population and female representation in local elected offices. Finally, in terms of variables which indicated the gender composition of the place, a particularly strong explanatory power was added, as expected. by the percentage of female-headed households. The analysis indicated that. although this variable explained a small percentage of variance, it was a positive indicator of women officials in the suburban municipalities. It is important to remember, however, that the female-headed households represent a diverse group GeoforumNolume 22 Number 211991 219 woman in the top position enhances the opportunities of households, including both poor single mothers for other women to participate in local politics. and young professional women living alone. Consequently, explanations need to take this complexity In summary, the above deliberation allow us, with into account. zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA caution, to identify the general type of place in New Jersey which is more likely to have at least one female elected official. These places tend to be suburban, Ty pe of municipal and political organization rather than urban, are located in or near growth corridors, and are experiencing compositional Our final set of variables examined the political feachanges in population. In addition, they are most tures of the places which have at least one elected likely to represent middle-income municipalities, woman. Here, results tend to support previous with a small Hispanic population, a higher number of studies. Of the 78 municipalities scoring high on the female-headed households, and have equal chances female official component the majority had at-large of having or not having a large Black population. In elections, while only three had elections by ward and terms of municipal and political organization, these four had a combination of the two. However, the places seem to be tending toward political initiative. overwhelming majority of all municipalities in New Jersey have at-large elections, which may diminish the significance of these findings. These results indicated that the places which have more women as Conclusion elected officials are likely to score higher on the atlarge variable. The analysis of the type of municipal The purpose of this article was to identify the characteristics of a place that contribute to the election of election indicated that in over 95% of our cases the local government election was nonpartisan, which is women to local government. We sought to examine true for the state as well. how the level of urbanization, the composition of the place, and political and municipal organization of The form of the government, called in this study the place deters or enhances women’s participation in ‘political initiative’ variable (INITIATIVE), loaded local politics. We examined, in particular, the conon the fourth growth corridor component, but nections between spatial distribution of those places showed one of the weakest relationships (0.434). and the areas of intensive economic transformation. Nonetheless, it indicated that in places where the Our analysis offered considerable evidence in suptraditional form of government has already been port of the argument that the new economy of New changed, and new more flexible structures have been Jersey’s suburban corridors brings about changes in introduced, a higher number of women among political outcomes. Our results pointed to the group elected officials was to be expected. This may suggest of suburban, middle-income places, and those that a slow breaking up process of the traditional located in or near growth corridors as those which political structure is taking place, although it is still were most likely to elect women officials. Despite too early for a separate political initiative component these plausible results, their interpretation will to emerge. Despite this, the results permit us to depend on further complex analysis of those places. suggest that this political change is connected with the Here we may only offer a few possible, but speculatprocess of transformation of New Jersey as indicated ive explanations. While the first two emphasize the by the population shift and economic restructuring. economic status of women and their families, the second pair stresses the political structures of the Finally, as the last variable in the analysis we included place. female mayor (FMMAYOR). Out of 78 municipalities which scored high on this component, 38 have a The location of a place in or near growth corridors female mayor. Our findings show a high correlation presents new high-status job opportunities for between the presence of a woman mayor and the women, which make some women economically innumber of female elected officials as indicated in the dependent and in the long-term possibly politically female official component (in order to avoid double active. Their increased economic status and political counting mayors were counted as mayors not council awareness may enhance the likelihood that women members). It appears that the places which have a will either run for office or will vote for other women female mayor are also more likely to have more than (ANDERSEN and COOK, 1985). one women among the elected officials (26 out of 38 municipalities). Not surprisingly, the presence of a A contradictory proposal suggests that it is high- 220 Geoforum/Volume status jobs for men which make some women more economically secure and increase their social status. Married, highly educated women, whose husbands have higher-status jobs, may be able to afford to either not work outside the home, or work part-time. In either case, there is a large possibility of voluntary activity, which may lead to running for, and being clccted to, local government (McDONAGH, 1982). Women: 22 Number Currcwt Roles in State and Local pp. 242-259, J. A. Flammang (Ed.). 2/l 99 I Go~wrvnrr~t, Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, CA. AGNEW, J. A. ( 1987) Place and Politics: the Grogmphicrtl Medication of.Ttate and .Socict>j. Allen C! Unwin. Boston, MA. ANTOLINI. D. (19X4) Women in zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZ loc a l govcrmncnt: an overview,, In: Political Worner~: (‘~rrwrrt Ro1c.s irl Sttrtc ~7 7 rl Loc t rl C;overr7nzvtzt, pp. 2330. J. A. Flammang (Ed.). Sage Publications. Beverly Hills, <‘I\. BONAPARTH. E. (lW4) Rcsourccs and constraints on Yet. the economy might not be the only force behind women in the policymaking process: state and loc a l arenas, In: I’olitictrl Womcr7: C‘urrcnt Rolcv itr S/ rr/ r,t rl7 t l the greater engagement of women in local politics. I .oc w l Chwrrmer~t. pp. 2777290. J. A. Flammang (Ed. ). Quite probably places in the growth corridors have Sage Publications, Bcvcrly Hills. CA. not reconciled their political structure with their BLJREAU OF GOVERNMENT RESEARCI I (I%#) growth. Thus, since women arc more likely to be Ntjlc, .Iuwy Legi.sluti~~c, District Dutu WooX. Bureau of clccted when the position is voluntary and part-time, C;ovcrnmcnt Research. Rutgers. Univcr%ity, Nc\4 Brunswick. NJ. these municipal posts present opportunities that may CENTER FOR THE AMERICAN WOM/\N AND not exist in older urban centers, or smaller more POLITICS ( IOX8a) zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVU N’m77cr7 ir7 M7117icipt7/ O[/k l-irc,t traditional places. Slrrcl. Eagleton Institute of Politics. Rutgers \ lnivcrsity. New Brunswick, NJ. 1,astly. the rapid development may actually be dcs<‘ENTER FOR ‘I’HE /\MERIC’AN WOMAN ANI) POLITICS ( 1988h) Won707 ir7 ,YcI~, .I~~r:s~~~ C;ol.c,r/ rrnc,t7/ troying the old party discipline and machinery. This 1988 Ftrc,/ Shwt. Ea gle t on Institute of Politic\. Rutgers creates opportunities for women to participate. Ilniversity. New Brunswick. NJ. Moreover, the voters may support women who are (‘LARK. J., DARCY. R.. WELCH. S. and AMBR@ seen as reformers. In the future, this might mean that SIUS. M. (19)x-l) Woincn ah Icgislative candidates in six state\. In: Prditicrrl M’o777c,77: C<rrrc,,7tRole\ i/7 .Sttr7c tr/rt/ what WC called ‘political initiative’ will gain force as I.ourl ~;~~1~w7177c/7/. pp. 111-155. J. A. Flammang (Ed.). an explanatory factor in the level of reprcscntation of Sage Publications, Be\erl!~ Ilills. (‘A. women zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA in zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA local government, but this has yet to CLARKE. H. D. and KORNBERG. .4. ( 1970) Moving up emerge. The old is currently breaking down, but the the political escalator: \\omcn party officials in the new political initiative has not yet taken shape. It IJnited States and Ca na da . /. /‘olitic..\. 41. -1411-177. DEAR, M and WOLCIl. J. (19%) How territol> \hapcs seems to us that place does matter for women. The special life, In: 7710Poh,cJr0J’C;cwgrtrp/ r\‘: f-lob{, T(~rritor\~ variations among places and economic and demo.Slrtr/~,.s .Soc,icrl /Y/i,. pp. 3-18. J. W&h and bl. De;& graphic changes can be seen as important forces in the (Eds). Unwin Hyman. Boston. MA. formal participation of women in lo c a l po litic s. The FINC‘HER, R. (19)x(J) <‘lass and gcndei- rcl;itions in the research should then explore further the interIw;II labor market and the local state. In: T/Ic~/‘OIIY~ of (;rw,qrtrph~~: IIoI~, Tcrriror! .Slrrrl113.Soc,itrl l.i/b. pp. 03relationship between characteristics of elected 117. J. Welch and M. De a r (Ed\). onwin IHyman. women officials and those of localities which they I%)ston, MA. represent. FLAMMANG. J. A. ( IOXla) Introduction: ;I Icilcction on themes OUa ‘woman’s politics,’ In: Flammang. qj. cit., pp. 9-l’). FLAMMANG, J. 12. (I9X4h) Filling the part! \acuum: Note women at the grassroots level in local politics. In: Flammang, q). cit.. pp. X7-l 13. I The cclncern with strong intercorrelation (or multicolliFOWLKES. I). I_. ( 1984) Ambitious political woman: nearity) was examined for the principal-components countersocialization and political party context. Worllc,!r analysis. Removal of highly correlated variables only affected the strength of particular components (specifically the female official component). The content of the resulting runs was not changed. References rr77tl Po/ itic,.s. 4( 4). 542. GIL)DENS, A. 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