In 1992, Senator Dianne Feinstein famously quipped, “Two percent may be good enough for milk, but it is not good enough for the United States Senate.” Her words captured a simple truth: women’s inclusion in politics matters. But decades later, scholars still debate whether—and how—the presence of women in office influences public confidence in government.
In her new book, The Politics of Perception, University of Georgia political scientist Katelyn E. Stauffer tackles this question head-on. Drawing on nearly a decade of research, Stauffer argues that Americans don’t just care about who holds office—they care about what they think government looks like. And those perceptions have far-reaching implications for trust and legitimacy.
From Dissertation to Definitive Study
“This book started as my dissertation,” Stauffer explains. “I realized early on that in American politics, we tend to focus on individual candidates—specific women—and how they shape attitudes. But comparative politics scholars think about representation differently, looking at memberships as a whole. That approach made more sense to me.”
The idea crystallized during graduate school when Stauffer read an article assuming people knew what their state legislature looked like. “I had a visceral reaction,” she recalls. “I wrote in the margins, ‘There’s no way that’s true.’ That moment sparked a decade-long project.”
Her research zeroed in on a critical gap: most Americans have little idea how many women actually serve in Congress. Stauffer’s research addresses contradictions in previous studies by introducing a new framework. She distinguishes between descriptive representation—what government looks like—and symbolic representation—how people feel about government’s responsiveness and legitimacy. “The debate has always been whether these two are linked,” she says. “My argument is that they are—but what matters most is perception, not reality.”
What the Data Reveals
To test this idea, Stauffer analyzed survey data from 2015 to 2022, asking respondents to estimate the percentage of women in Congress and then measuring attitudes like trust, approval, and perceptions of legislative effectiveness. She supplemented these surveys with experiments that corrected people’s assumptions.
The results were striking: when people believe women are well-represented, they view government more positively. They trust Congress more, see the legislative process as cleaner, and rate institutions as more capable of producing effective policy.
One surprising finding? “This isn’t just a story about women,” Stauffer notes. “Men also trust government more when they think women are included.”
Implications for Politics
Stauffer’s findings carry important lessons for policymakers and political parties. “Including women is one way to help repair the fractured relationship between Americans and their institutions,” she says. “But it’s not enough to elect women—you have to make their presence visible. If Congress became 50/50 tomorrow, it wouldn’t matter if nobody knew.”
Her research also suggests opportunities to reduce polarization. Stauffer explains that when people perceive greater gender diversity within political groups, they tend to express more trust across party lines.
A Call to Rethink Representation
For Stauffer, the book’s core message is clear: perceptions matter. “In politics, it’s not just about objective indicators—it’s about what people believe,” she says. “Inclusion is a legitimizing force. I hope this book helps settle a long-standing debate and gives students and scholars a new way to think about representation.”
