Posted by Jenna Ebersole on March 30, 2015
Even as Republicans struggle to draw women voters, GOP lawmakers at least as often as not assign women's issues to male staffers in the office.
Meanwhile, more than 70 percent of Democratic staff covering women's issues are women.
These figures come from a review of LegiStorm's staffer issue tracking. Legislative assistants on the Hill, as well as other staffers who handle issues, are on the front lines for members of Congress on the topics they cover. LegiStorm tracks legislative issues for every office and the numbers constantly change as staffers come and go from offices.
In the House overall, 67 percent of staffers from both parties assigned to "women's issues" are women. Of 205 Democratic staffers currently assigned to the issue, 169 are women, or about 82 percent of the total.
For Republican House offices, 238 staffers cover "women's issues" and 127, or 53 percent, are women.
Senate staffers who cover "women's issues" are also majority female, with 66 out of 109 or 61 percent. The divide between the parties is about 20 points, with 32 of 46 Democratic staffers who are women and 32 of 61 Republican staffers.
When it comes to abortion, which LegiStorm tracks as its own issue, some offices often internally classify it under the health or social issue umbrellas. In both chambers, more Republican men cover the issue.
In the House, 60 percent of staffers on abortion are women or 253 out of 424. But Republican offices currently assign 122 men to the topic, versus 113 women. In Democratic offices, 74 percent of the staffers are women, or 140 out of 189.
The Senate gender split on the abortion issue is also about 60 percent women, but 46 percent of Republican staffers covering abortion are women, or 26 out of 57.
Overall, women represent 41 percent of legislative assistants in the House and 44 percent in the Senate.
Some people and organizations who "caught our eye" last week:
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