Cindy Simon Rosenthal

Cindy Simon Rosenthal joined the department in 1995. She is Carlisle Mabrey and Lurline Mabrey Presidential Professor of Political Science and Director and Curator of the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center at the University of Oklahoma.

WOMEN TRANSFORMING CONGRESS
(Congressional Studies Series, V. 4)
Cindy Simon Rosenthal, editor, foreword by Richard F. Fenno
University of Oklahoma Press (2003)

"From the first to one of the most recent—Jeannette Rankin (Montana, 1916) to Hillary Rodham Clinton (New York, 2001)—only two hundred women have ever served in the U.S. Congress. Have hese relatively few women changed the predominantly masculine institution in which they serve? Have women as voters, activists, staff, and members made a difference? Edited by Cindy Simon Rosenthal, Women Transforming Congress examines the increasing influence of women on Congress and the ways in which gender defines and shapes Congress as a political institution.

Written by women in politics and leading scholars on Congress, the essays in this volume go beyond the limitations of prior research through their diverse analytical approaches and singular historical breadth. The volume follows women on the campaign trail, in committee rooms, in floor debate, and in policy deliberations where previously the focus was on men’s interests and activities. A gallery of photographs showing notable women from their earliest years of involvement with Congress to the present complements the essays." (from publisher)

“Drawing together research from a wide array of contributors with diverse perspectives and methodologies, Women Transforming Congress offers several answers to the enduring central question in this field of research: what difference do women make in Congress? Rosenthal and her collaborators have done a great service to students and scholars alike.”–Karen O’Connor, Director of the Women and Politics Institute at American University

WHEN WOMEN LEAD
Integrative Leadership in State Legislatures
Cindy Simon Rosenthal
Oxford University Press USA (1998)

"Until recently, the study of legislative leadership has been the study of men. Scholars have taught students that legislative leadership is transactional, a kind of competitive bargaining procedure to broker particular interests. When Women Lead: Integrative Leadership in State Legislatures brings to light the important contributions that women as legislative leaders make to the institutions in which they operate. Cindy Simon Rosenthal shows us how (and where) women are "integrating" the ranks of the legislative hierarchy, a forum in which they have been all but absent. She also argues that women are "doing leadership" in an innovative, inclusive style that subtly redefines both the appearance and meaning of political leadership.

Contradicting the assumption that legislative leadership is inherently transactional, Rosenthal posits an integrative style emphasizing collaboration, shared problem-solving, and consensus. Further, she argues that women committee chairs come to their roles from different life experiences, and so employ motivations, tactics, and visions of leadership that differ in important ways from their male counterparts. Her findings suggest that women tend to see political leadership as something more than the act of satisfying particular interests.

This study of women who chair state legislative committees examines one of America's largest cohorts of women in institutional leadership roles, thus making an important contribution to our understanding of gender, organizational leadership, and state legislatures. Rosenthal ably demonstrates that legislatures are not gender-neutral and that legislative leadership must be understood within a gendered context. Numbers and power therefore constitute critical variables throughout this study. While stereotyping has not disappeared in some states, women across the country—as illustrated in When Women Lead—-are effectively redefining the framework and the assumptions central to political leadership in other locales." (from publisher)

"When Women Lead, a study in integration leadership, is solidly grounded in theory, nicely shaped by empirical method, and admirably informed by practical insight. It makes a unique contribution to the study of women and politics specifically and to legislatures more generally. It is certainly required reading for anyone in either of these fields, and it ought to be read by an even wider audience."– Alan Rosenthal, Professor of Public Policy and Political Science, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University

"Exquisitely researched, When Women Lead weaves a rich tapestry of organization theory, new institutions, gender, and leadership studies. Thorough, inventive, and original in its approach, this book carefully crafts an argument that overturns ideas about legislatures as naturally transactional institutions."–Georgia Duerst-Lahti, Professor Political Science, Beloit College

"This study advances our knowledge of male/female leadership styles and illustrates how the presence of women in legislative leadership positions moves a group away from transactional, individualistically motivated behaviors to more interative, collective ones....Timely and well-written, it will be useful in classrooms as well as of interest to general readers."–Rita Mae Kelly, Dean, School of Social Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas

"Rosenthal knows her subject well. She brings to this study of women's leadership in legislatures a scholar's intellectual distance as well as a staff member's practical proximity—a combination which both grounds and enriches her conclusions."–Ruth B. Mandel, Director and Professor, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University

"[This work] effectively expresses major concerns regarding the differences between male and female legislators and provides insight as to why these differences exist."– State Representative Jane Maroney, Delaware

"[Here] is solid evidence of the difference it makes to have women among the leadership ranks of legislative bodies across the nation. Scholars of legislatures, leadership, women and politics, and the whole of American politics will want to become acquainted with this book."–Sue Thomas, Associate Professor of Government and Director of Women's Studies, Georgetown University