Hello, Having logged into your website I was pleased to find a lot of information relevant to a project that I will shortly be writing.

I was wondering however if you could help me out with a query. I want to know if Congresswomen put themselves at a disadvantage when they champion women-only issues in Congress. Does it make them an electoral liability? I am studying in England and would be very grateful if you could answer my query for me. Many thanks, Josephine

Though I have done some political research, I have not followed how women fare when they endorse women friendly legislation. My instincts is that the bigger problem is that any legislation proposed by women is viewed as slightly less serious than whatever is proposed by male representatives. Therefore, the content is secondary to the person proposing it.

Also, there is rarely legislation that is "for women only"--for instance--the Family Medical Leave Act--that is meant to be equally for men and women, but women will act on it more. I hope that helps--if not, try the National Women's Political Caucus, which works with female elected officials.

—Amy