Date of Award
5-10-2026
Date Published
June 2026
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Political Science
Advisor(s)
Christopher Faricy
Keywords
Black women;Congress;Gender;Intersectionality;Legislative Behavior;Representation
Subject Categories
Political Science | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
This dissertation introduces my Sister Support Theory (SST) to explain how Black congresswomen in a white male-dominated, majoritarian institution collaborate for two specific reasons: to put issues salient to Black women and often overlooked, like disparities in healthcare, employment, and education, on the national agenda; and to navigate and overcome institutional and societal biases they face specifically as Black congresswomen. These activities allow these women to achieve both substantive and symbolic forms of surrogate representation, ultimately increasing their influence in Congress. I operationalize these three bonding activities: supportiveness (bill cosponsorship), policy entrepreneurship (membership in Black women-interests caucuses), and instrumental help (committee gatekeeping that advances a colleague’s bill); and test them using my original Black Women in Congress Dataset. Using data from the 114th to 117th Congresses, I find that: Black congresswomen are predicted to cosponsor each other’s bills at a higher level than with Black congressmen and white congresswomen; their membership to Black women-interest caucuses like the Black Maternal Health Caucus predicts stronger bill cosponsorship ties than with membership in broader identity-based caucuses like the Congressional Black Caucus; and Black women’s membership to particular congressional committees can lead to the advancement of another Black congresswoman’s bill onto the House floor. By integrating SST with my new dataset, this dissertation contributes to the scholarship on race, gender, intersectionality, and representation in American politics and congressional behavior, demonstrating how Black congresswomen navigate structural barriers through strategic and collaborative engagement.
Access
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Recommended Citation
Edmonds, Curtis Kelton, "Sister Support: Congressional Bonding Activities Among Black Women in the House of Representatives" (2026). Dissertations - ALL. 2269.
https://surface.syr.edu/etd/2269
