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

Geoforum. Vol. 22, No. 2. pp 203.221, 1901 0016-718.5191 $3.00+0.00 Printed in Great Britain 0 IYYI Pergamon Press plc

Women, Politics and Place: Spatial Patterns of Representatidn

in New Jersey

JOANNA REGULSKA,* SUSANA FRIED-i- and JOHN TTEFENBACHER.* 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 hypoth- esis 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 female- headed 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 KORN- BERG, 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.

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 predis- pose most researchers to finding political socialization the most important factor in the candidacy and election of women in local government (FLAM- MANG, 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; WER- KELE and RUTHERFORD, 1989). If characteristics of the place, in addition to those of women

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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.

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 to elect women to local g~~vernnlent. Second, this research expanded on the direction taken by Welch. Karnig and Walter. and McManus, and considers additional variables which could furthor dclincate those places where women’s formal participation in local politics is more likely to take place. Third, we wanted to lest the proposition that rapid economic and social changes create an environment with greater opportunities for women’s participation in the political process. To this end WC chose to study women’s representation in local government in New Jersey as it exemplifies a geographic area uIldergoing rapid economic and social restructurillg.

Women in Local Government: Political Scien- tists’ View

Frequently, when research directly confronts ‘structural’ variables with regard to the election of women to local government, it is primarily from the perspective of the women officials, not of the community (CLARKE and KORNBERG, 1979; FLAM- MANG, lY84a; KARNIG and WALTER, 1976: MERRITT, 1977; WELCH, 1977). Thus recent research emphasizes structural factors, but from an individual rather than an aggregate perspective. If. however as ACKELSBERG (1984, p. 255) believes. much of women’s political consciousness develops out of participation in networks and as a response to issues before them, this focus on communities be-

comes particularly important. This presents a doublc- edged question: first, are there features of a community 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 research is concerned, then, with the structure of these communities and variations among them.

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-

G~~)f~~rum/Volume 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. ‘Social- ization’ includes both general psychological and specifically political socialization. and is assumed to occur on an individual Icvel.

In contrast, our research disaggregates ‘structural‘ variahlcs to the different forms which distiIig~~ish places: level of urbanizati~~ti, c~~l~lp~~siti~~n of Ihe municipality and form of municipal political organization. This implies a critique of those studies concerned with questions of ‘status and resources’ taken as individual characteristics rather than features within a community context. The problem with an individualistic or behavioral standpoint is that it seems to lead to a primary focus on differences between female and male clectcd officials as opposed to the conditions which account for these differences. Certainly, there does appear to be a general consen- sus that consistent differences exist. First, women officials tend to be older and less educated than their male counterparts. and have a more cxtcnsive hack- ground in civic activities (MERRITT, lY77). MER-

RITT (1077, p. 741) ohserves that:

the characteristics which dktinguish female winncrh from losers---income. appointivc officeholding and civic involvement-differ from the characteristics which distinguish male winners from losers-recruiting agent.

Two other related features have also been ohscrvcd by many: women arc more likely to gain scats with less prestige and power (WELCH et nl., 1983: KAR- NIG and WALTER, 1976), and women view their role differently than men. ANTOLINI (lY84, p. 23) notes that “Women. much more than men, rc- sembled the stereotype of the local officeholder as ‘public servant’ rather than as ‘politician’.” However. according to ANTOLINI (1984. p. 26). these differ- enccs diminish when occupational status is considered.

While many point to the effects of political socialization as the crucial variable, the evidence of the role of socialization itself is far from clear. GITHENS (1984, p. 47) specifies one of the problems with the ‘socialization’ explanation in commenting that:

Gender differences in ambition and aspiration may, however. have less to do with socialization to female passivity or sex-rclle-appropri~It~ behavior than with

GeoforumNolume 22 Number 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 owner- occupied, 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 single- member and multi-member elections,” indicating that women will do better in at-large elections. How- ever, 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 develop- ments made Santa Clara County fertile soil for the success of female candidates: environmentalism and

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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 etal. (1984, p. 15.5) observe that, as legislative candidates, nonparti- sanship 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 ex- pression 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 prod- uct 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

206 Geoforum/Volume 22 Number 2/l 991

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.

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 inha- bitants. 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).

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-

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

Table 1. Type of community based on the degree of urbanization”

Type of place Definition

Major urban center

Urban center

Urban-suburban

Suburban

Suburban-rural

Rural center

Rural center-rural

Rural

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

*Source: authors classification based on data from the Nen Jarw~ Legislurit~c Dnfn Rook (1’388). Bureau of Government Research.

GeoforumNolume 22 Number Z/1993

engagement of women in politics is a reflection of women’s and the community’s affluence.

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 single- ness 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.

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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 dis- tinguishes 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 back- ground 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

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 region

Table 3. Women mayors and govcrn~ng board members, by county in New Jersey

-..-.-“.l.--

Stare --_.”

Women mayors

and council members

1975 I985

Percentage al women Percentage

(rank among increase states) 1975-1985 County

Women mayors and governing

hoard members

Percent of municipalities with women mayors and governing

board members

Connecticut 130 240 18.7 (5) x5 New Jersey X.3 45I 13.2 (20) Ilf New York n/a 797 14.4 (I?) 11/a

region (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.

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 and 6.5% f respectively, in I975 (CAWP, 198%).

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. Audu- bon 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%).

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:

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,

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.

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-

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 Gov- ernment 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 Council- Manager form, the Small Municipality form, and the M~~y~~r-C~)uIlcil-.~~imirlistrat~~r form.

Geoforum/Volume 22 Number 211991

Figure 1. Administrative divisions of New Jersey: county boundaries.

Forms of rnu~i~i~a1 organization fall into three broad patterns. First, there may be a directly elected chief executive and an elected legislative body. Second, there may be an executive appointed by an elected legislative body. Third, a group of elected officials may serve as both legislative body and chief executive in a ‘commission’ or ‘committee.’ In this case, ‘the responsibility for day-to-day supervision is divided among the individual members of the committee, with each member specializing in some aspect of municipal government’ fp. 15). The size of the legislative body, at-large or ward elections, partisan or nonpartisan elections, length and staggering of terms, existence of a ‘presiding’ member called a ‘mayor,’ among other features, vary from municipality to municipality.

For our purposes, we have designated the ‘optional’ forms (Walsh Act of 1911, 1923 Municipal Manager Act, and Faulkner Act of 1950) as ‘political initiative.’ Each of these forms requires specific action on

209

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):

In EEQ, 5% 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.

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) Mayor- Council 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.

The form of government is also related to the type of community (see Table 1). A patterned relationship exists between the range of communities from major urban center to rural to seaside resort. Distinct regional patterns may also be observed (REOCK and BODNAR, 1985).

Since the 1960s New Jersey has been rapidly urbaniz- ing, to the extent that it is now one of the most urbanized states in the country. One result of this is a shift in municipal governmental structure. Many places have “shifted from part-time, amateur governmental administration to a more fuli-time, professional approach . . ,” (REOCK and BODNAR, 1985, p. 5). It is with sensitivity to the many forms of, and changes in, municipal government in New Jersey that we address the question of the relationship between the composition of the place and the election of women to local government.

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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 carto- graphic 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 trans- portation networks in New Jersey. and cartographi- tally 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-

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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 principal- component 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 substi- tuted later by the rate of the population change. Six components were extracted and then rotated (vari- max). 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 house-

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 serv- ing 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;

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Table 4. Variables used in the principal-components analysis

211

Variable Value Source

Number of female officials (NUMFEMS)

Percent female officials (PCFEMOFF)

Female mayor ~FMMA~~R)

Urban

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

Total number

Percentage

0 = no I = yes 4 = major urban center 3 = urban center 2 = urban 1 = urban-suburban 0 = suburban, suburban-

rural, rural center, rural

4 = rural 3 = rural center 2 = suburban-rural 1= suburban 0 = urban (4-I above) Percentage change

Total number

Percentage

Percentage

Percentage

Percentage

Percentage

Index

Percentage

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

CAWP”

CAWP/NJLDDBt

CAWP NJLDDB

NJLDDB census$

CiSlSUS

Census

Census

Census

Census

Census

NJLDDB

Census

NJLDDB

NJLDDB

NJLDDB

NJLDDB

* CAWP = Center for the American Woman and Pohtin, Eagleton institute, Rutgers Wniver- sity, 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.

(3) affluent, well-educated suburban communities; results may be hidden by overshadowing urban areas. (4) female officials; and (5) and (6) type of election. Two subsets were derived from the 567 municipali-

ties: the first analysis incorporated only those places The third and fourth component analyses were run on defined as being suburban and rural, while the second subsets of the data. A seemingly large suburban and was run on the urban municipalities. Similar com- rural concentration of municipalities suggested that ponents with no signiiicant changes were produced.

0.779 0.741

O.YOh 0.662 0.410 0.434 0.7Y4

-0.632 0.630 -0.793

0.873

212 Geoforum/Volume 22 Number 2/1991

Table 5. Component scores > 0.40

Dimension

Variable name

NUMFEMS PCFEMOFF FMMAYOR

Socioeconomic race

ethnicity Female official

0.031 O.Y44 0.580

status >illd

education Growth

corridors Urbanization Representation

Urban 0.843 Rural -0.YO7

POPRATE TOTFEMS PCFEM80 PCB80 PCS080 PCFMHSHD FRYRSHS PCPII PCABVPOV

At-large Ward Initiative

Eigenvalue Percent of variation

--0.X5X 0.199 O.Mil 0.47’)

3.76 2.76 1.7Y 1.73 1.10 I.10 22.10 16.20 10.60 7.x 6.40 0.40

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 classiticd as urban-suburban. suburban, and

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

change, higher numbers of females in population and percentage of Hispanic population. Of the total of 7X such places almost 74% wcrc classified as urban- suburban, suburban, and suburban-rural. These 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 multi- collinearity. only certain, select independent variables were involved. A number of demographic variables were utilized: the percents of Blacks and Hispa- nics. 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 signifi- cantly 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. Conse- quently, 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 postindus- trial 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 petro- chemical) 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 22 Number 20991

t Corridorr t

n Employment Growth

Cmto#raphy by: Y. Siegel 1999 U”

Female Official component score

Figure 2.

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 Female

community* mayor

Number of women officials

Size of council

Atlantic County Galloway Port Republic

Bergen County Dumont Englewood Fairlawn Hasbrouch Heights Leonia Little Ferry Oakland Oradell Rochelle Park

Burlington County Bordentown Township Easthampton Medford Lakes Westhampton Willingboro

Camden County Audubon Park Brooklawn Cherry Hill Gloucester Township Lawnside Lindenwold Magnolia Stratford Woodlynne

Essex County Montclair Orange

Gloucester County Deptford Logan

Hudson County Kearney

Hunterdon County Frenchtown Glen Gardner Hampton Borough Stockton

Mercer County Ewing Hopewell Township Lawrence Princeton Borough Princeton Township

R R

Yes No

3 5

u-s OAS u-s u-s u-s u-s S u-s u-s

No No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes

S S-R S R S

Yes Yes Yes Yes No

u-s No 6 u-s Yes 2 S Yes 3 S-R Yes 2 S No 3 S NO 3 u-s Yes 3 S No 3 u-s Yes 3

u-s out

No No

S R

No No

u-s No

RC R RC RC

No No No Yes

No No Yes Yes Yes

4 3

2 3

3

3 2 1 1

2 2

: 4

7 S

: 5 7 7 7 7 7 5

5 5 3 5 5

7 7 8 8 7 7 7 7 7

7 8

7 5

9

7 7 7 7

5 5 5 7 5

Conl~nue~ on p. 216

216

Table 6. Cor~tirwd

Geoforum/Volume 22 Number 2/ 1991

County/municipality

Middlesex County Helmetta Jamesburg Piscataway South Plaintield

Monmouth County Belmar Bridle Englishtown Fair Haven Farmingdale Holmdcl Howell Marlboro Roosevelt Shrewsbury Borough

Type of community’

s R(‘ S-R s

s s RC s KC S-R S-R S-R S-R S

Number of Female women Size of mayor officials council

YCS 7 7 No -l 7 No ; s No 3 7

YL‘\ I 3 No 2 7 No 2 7 Yes 7 7 No 7 7 Yes 2 5 No 2 5 No 7 6 No , 7 YCS 2 7

Morris County Boontan Chatham Borough East Hanover Jefferson Mendham Township Morristown Mountain Lake\ Pequannock

Victory Garden5

S No S Yes S Yes S-R Yes S-R Yt3 OU< No S No S Yes S No

Ocean county Lakehurst Pt Pleasant Beach

RC’ No ,

; 7

S No 7

Passaic County Clifton Paterson

7 7 7 IO

_

* MUC‘ = major urban center. OUC = other urban ccntcr. U-S = urban-suburban. S = suburbar;, S-R = suburban-rural. R center-rural.

rural. RC = rural center, RC-R = 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


Table 7. Selected characteristics of municipalities with no local female elected officials, including female mayors, and with characteristics which make them unlikely

to elect female officials

217

County/municipality Type of

community* Female mayor

Number of women officials

Size of council

Atlantic County Buena Margate Ventnor

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

Camden County Haddon Township

Cape May County West Wildwood

Cumberland County Vineland

Essex County Bellsville Maplewood Nutley

Gloucester County Westville

Hudson County Gutenberg Harrison North Bergen Secaucus Union City Weehawken West New York

Mercer County Hamilton

Middlesex County Carteret Dunellen Perth Amboy

RC-R No u-s No u-s No

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

u-s

S

out

u-s u-s u-s

u-s

u-s u-s u-s u-s out u-s u-s

u-s

u-s u-s out

No No No No No No No No No No No No No NO No No No

No

No

No

No No No

No

No NO No No No No No

No

No No No

0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0

0

0

0 0 0

0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0

0 0 0

7 3 3

7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 8 7 7 5 7 7 7 7 7

3

3

6

7 5 5

7

6 9 5 7 5 5 5

6

7 7 6

Continued on p. 218

218 Geoforum/Volume 22 Number 2/1991

Table 7. Continued

Number of Type of Female women Size of

County/municipality community* mayor officials council

South Amboy u-s No 0 6 South River u-s No 0 7

Monmouth County Long Branch OUC No 0 6 Union Beach S No 0 7

Morris County Dover Town u-s NO 0 Y

Ocean County Lakewood u-s No 0 5

Passaic County Hawthorne u-s No 0 3 Totowa u-s No 0 7 West Paterson US No 0 7

Somerset County Manville u-s No 0 7 Raritan Borough u-s No 0 7

Union County Westfield S No 0 Y

Warren County Phillipsburg u-s No 0 7

“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 decon- centration 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


of households, including both poor single mothers and young professional women living alone. Conse- quently, explanations need to take this complexity into account.

Type of municipal and political organization

Our final set of variables examined the political features of the places which have at least one elected woman. Here, results tend to support previous studies. Of the 78 municipalities scoring high on the female official component the majority had at-large elections, while only three had elections by ward and four had a combination of the two. However, the 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 elected officials are likely to score higher on the at- large variable. The analysis of the type of municipal election indicated that in over 95% of our cases the local government election was nonpartisan, which is true for the state as well.

The form of the government, called in this study the ‘political initiative’ variable (INITIATIVE), loaded on the fourth growth corridor component, but showed one of the weakest relationships (0.434). Nonetheless, it indicated that in places where the traditional form of government has already been changed, and new more flexible structures have been introduced, a higher number of women among elected officials was to be expected. This may suggest that a slow breaking up process of the traditional political structure is taking place, although it is still too early for a separate political initiative component to emerge. Despite this, the results permit us to suggest that this political change is connected with the process of transformation of New Jersey as indicated by the population shift and economic restructuring.

Finally, as the last variable in the analysis we included female mayor (FMMAYOR). Out of 78 municipalities which scored high on this component, 38 have a female mayor. Our findings show a high correlation between the presence of a woman mayor and the number of female elected officials as indicated in the female official component (in order to avoid double counting mayors were counted as mayors not council members). It appears that the places which have a female mayor are also more likely to have more than one women among the elected officials (26 out of 38 municipalities). Not surprisingly, the presence of a

219

woman in the top position enhances the opportunities for other women to participate in local politics.

In summary, the above deliberation allow us, with 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, rather than urban, are located in or near growth corridors, and are experiencing compositional changes in population. In addition, they are most likely to represent middle-income municipalities, with a small Hispanic population, a higher number of female-headed households, and have equal chances of having or not having a large Black population. In terms of municipal and political organization, these places seem to be tending toward political initiative.

Conclusion

The purpose of this article was to identify the characteristics of a place that contribute to the election of women to local government. We sought to examine how the level of urbanization, the composition of the place, and political and municipal organization of place deters or enhances women’s participation in local politics. We examined, in particular, the con- nections between spatial distribution of those places and the areas of intensive economic transformation. Our analysis offered considerable evidence in support of the argument that the new economy of New Jersey’s suburban corridors brings about changes in political outcomes. Our results pointed to the group of suburban, middle-income places, and those located in or near growth corridors as those which were most likely to elect women officials. Despite these plausible results, their interpretation will depend on further complex analysis of those places. Here we may only offer a few possible, but speculat- ive explanations. While the first two emphasize the economic status of women and their families, the second pair stresses the political structures of the place.

The location of a place in or near growth corridors presents new high-status job opportunities for women, which make some women economically independent and in the long-term possibly politically active. Their increased economic status and political awareness may enhance the likelihood that women will either run for office or will vote for other women (ANDERSEN and COOK, 1985).

A contradictory proposal suggests that it is high-

220

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).

Yet. the economy might not be the only force behind the greater engagement of women in local politics. Quite probably places in the growth corridors have not reconciled their political structure with their growth. Thus, since women arc more likely to be clccted when the position is voluntary and part-time, these municipal posts present opportunities that may not exist in older urban centers, or smaller more traditional places.

1,astly. the rapid development may actually be dcs- troying the old party discipline and machinery. This creates opportunities for women to participate. Moreover, the voters may support women who are seen as reformers. In the future, this might mean that what WC called ‘political initiative’ will gain force as an explanatory factor in the level of reprcscntation of

women in local government, but this has yet to emerge. The old is currently breaking down, but the new political initiative has not yet taken shape. It seems to us that place does matter for women. The variations among places and economic and demographic changes can be seen as important forces in the formal participation of women in local politics. The research should then explore further the inter- relationship between characteristics of elected women officials and those of localities which they

represent.

Note

I The cclncern with strong intercorrelation (or multicolli- nearity) was examined for the principal-components 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.

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Documents

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