Climbing the Hill: Gender Conflict in Congress

(Hardback)

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Description

This work explores the history and current status of women members and staff on Capitol Hill. It traces the difficult history of women in Congress, their slow and painful path to political power and their hopes and fears of today. It presents a comprehensive analysis of women's success at the polls and within the congressional hierarchy - legislatively, politically, and socially. Through in-depth research and extensive personal interviews, the authors reveal the deep-rooted sexual divisions within the US Congress and the continuing struggle of women to break into the "old boy" network. The book's comprehensive coverage is up-to-date and should be of interest to scholars, students, and interested layreaders.

Reviews

Karen Foerstel and Herbert Foerstel bring their researching skills and 'insider' information together to trace the history of women's slow, not always steady, struggle to attain election to and power in Congress. In the second half of their book, they document with interesting anecdotal examples the difficulties Congresswomen have continually faced getting respect and recognition from their male colleagues. The final section is a fascinating report of the discrimination and harassment women experience working on personal office and congressional committee staffs. Recommended for academic, law, and public libraries with strong women's studies collections.-Library Journal
Karen Foerstel and Herbert Foerstel...bring their researching skills and 'insider' information together to trace the history of women's slow, not always steady, struggle to attain election to and power in Congress. In the second half of their book, they document with interesting anecdotal examples the difficulties Congresswomen have continually faced getting respect and recognition from their male colleagues. The final section is a fascinating report of the discrimination and harassment women experience working on personal office and congressional committee staffs. Recommended for academic, law, and public libraries with strong women's studies collections.-Library Journal
The book is well and engagingly written and rich with reactions to the politics of Congress by the women who serve there. Undoubtedly, students will enjoy the stories of individual Congresswomen and staffers.-Women & Politics
The Foerstels open this study with an overview of the history of women elected to Congress, providing a context for the myriad challenges and obstacles faced by women in the political arena. With keen insights, they illuminate the process of party politics and offer a critique of the committee system. This analysis touches on those issues pertinent to women. In essence, they indicate there is little cause for optimism while the male-dominant power structure is still in control.-Booklist
The Foerstels provide an excellent account of the battle of the sexes in Congress... Women are not key players on the standing committees, nor are they entrenched in the leadership of either party. Yet women are important to the success or failure of congressional members in their staff roles, as they account for about 60 percent of all staff (although they still serve disproportionately in the lower-paying jobs). The prognosis for women in this book is not overly optimistic, but it is realistic. Women are still 'climbing the hill, ' and will be doing so for decades in their attempt to rival men in political power. Upper division undergraduates through faculty.-Choice
"Karen Foerstel and Herbert Foerstel bring their researching skills and 'insider' information together to trace the history of women's slow, not always steady, struggle to attain election to and power in Congress. In the second half of their book, they document with interesting anecdotal examples the difficulties Congresswomen have continually faced getting respect and recognition from their male colleagues. The final section is a fascinating report of the discrimination and harassment women experience working on personal office and congressional committee staffs. Recommended for academic, law, and public libraries with strong women's studies collections."-Library Journal
"The book is well and engagingly written and rich with reactions to the politics of Congress by the women who serve there. Undoubtedly, students will enjoy the stories of individual Congresswomen and staffers."-Women & Politics
"The Foerstels open this study with an overview of the history of women elected to Congress, providing a context for the myriad challenges and obstacles faced by women in the political arena. With keen insights, they illuminate the process of party politics and offer a critique of the committee system. This analysis touches on those issues pertinent to women. In essence, they indicate there is little cause for optimism while the male-dominant power structure is still in control."-Booklist
"The Foerstels provide an excellent account of the battle of the sexes in Congress... Women are not key players on the standing committees, nor are they entrenched in the leadership of either party. Yet women are important to the success or failure of congressional members in their staff roles, as they account for about 60 percent of all staff (although they still serve disproportionately in the lower-paying jobs). The prognosis for women in this book is not overly optimistic, but it is realistic. Women are still 'climbing the hill, ' and will be doing so for decades in their attempt to rival men in political power. Upper division undergraduates through faculty."-Choice
"Karen Foerstel and Herbert Foerstel...bring their researching skills and 'insider' information together to trace the history of women's slow, not always steady, struggle to attain election to and power in Congress. In the second half of their book, they document with interesting anecdotal examples the difficulties Congresswomen have continually faced getting respect and recognition from their male colleagues. The final section is a fascinating report of the discrimination and harassment women experience working on personal office and congressional committee staffs. Recommended for academic, law, and public libraries with strong women's studies collections."-Library Journal

Author Bio

KAREN FOERSTEL is a senior reporter with Congressional Quarterly, specializing in political and legislative issues in the House of Representatives. Previously, she served as a staff writer with the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call. HERBERT N. FOERSTEL is head of Branch Libraries at the University of Maryland. He is the author of Surveillance in the Stacks: The FBI's Library Awareness Program (Greenwood, 1991), Secret Science: Federal Control of American Science and Technology (Praeger, 1993), and Banned in the USA: A Reference Guide to Book Censorship in Schools and Public Libraries (Greenwood, 1994).