For those who have labored long and hard to increase the involvement of women in politics, 2008 promises to be an exciting year. Congress is now 16 percent female, its highest level ever, and New York Senator Hillary Clinton could become the first viable female presidential candidate.
But despite the seemingly increasing number of women in Washington, a recent study found that women entering law school are less likely to aspire to work in the political sector than men.
The study, conducted by Kaplan Inc., found that far fewer female pre-law students aspire to politics than their male counterparts. Law has traditionally been a precursor to political careers; 25 of the 43 U.S. presidents originally worked as lawyers.
The study asked respondents to rate the importance of several factors in deciding to pursue a career in law. It was conducted electronically among 1,949 students, each of whom took the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) in December of 2007.
While 42 percent of overall respondents said they would "definitely" or "probably" run for political office, the percentage of men rested much higher, at 52 percent. The percentage of females was significantly lower, at 34 percent.
Opinions were mixed as to the study's significance.
"I think this is definitely a glass half-empty or half-full situation," said Glen Stohr, Kaplan's test prep and admissions pre-law director. "It doesn't seem to show a lack of female interest in politics. You have to look at it in its historical context."
Stohr said that though the study showed a statistical gap between genders, women have made great advances in other aspects of legal education in recent years.
"Women have achieved parity in the law-school classroom," Stohr said. According to the DeLoggio Achievement Program, the percentage of women in law school classrooms can typically vary between 30 and 65 percent.
The Kaplan study also found that 73 percent of pre-law students considered the high-income potential of a career in law to be very or somewhat important, a number that was split evenly between males and females.
"This shows that students perceive some overlap between high-income potential and political aspirations. Traditionally, these two don't necessarily connect," Stohr said. "More importantly, it shows a parity in the number of men and women who see the possibility for financial success in law."
Stohr added that the study shows improvements in a traditionally large gender gap. "Progress is being made," he said. "There's good reason to see the gap as due in part to historical background. It persists as a residue of the traditional dominance of males in politics."
A survey by the American Political Science Association conducted before the 2000 presidential election found that only 15.3 percent of female college freshman considered influencing the political structure to be "very important" or "essential," and only 25 percent thought it was important to keep up to date with political affairs. Though the numbers for males were higher, the percentage for women and men responding both increased in 2008.
For Jumbos, the problem does not seem to be a major one.
"I'm not aware of any gender gap between pre-law students who would like to pursue politics," said junior Eric Lawson, who heads the Tufts Pre-Legal Society and plans to enter a career in law. Lawson himself does not plan to pursue a political career.
Debra Curtis, professor of law at Nova Southeastern University and head of the Tufts Lawyers Association, similarly said that she hadn't noticed a gender gap, and that in many U.S. law schools, enrollment is proportionately higher for women.
Stohr said he thinks female participation in politics will continue to rise.
"Right now you have a viable female presidential candidate," he said. "As more women get involved in politics you'll have more role models with successful backgrounds. This can only help."
For pre-law students in Medford and across the nation, the picture appears to be improving, although the future is far from certain.
"It will be interesting to follow up on this four years from now," Stohr said. "Who will still be motivated then? Will the number be higher? That's when this group will be graduating from law school and going out into the world."
