2019 Hahn-Sigelman Prize

• Author: Costas Panagopoulos
• DOI: 10.1177/1532673X20939713
• Published date: 01 September 2020
• Date: 01 September 2020
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X20939713

American Politics Research

2020, Vol. 48(5) 531

© The Author(s) 2020

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DOI: 10.1177/1532673X20939713

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I am delighted to announce that the winner of the Hahn-

Sigelman Prize for best article published in American Politics

Research in 2019 is “Working Mothers Represent: How

Children Affect the Legislative Agenda of Women in

Congress,” by Lisa A. Bryant (California State University

Fresno) and Julia Marin Hellwege, (University of South

Dakota). The article appeared in the May 2019 issue (Volume

47, Issue 3).

I am indebted to members of the prize selection commit-

tee whose diligence and professionalism were exemplary.

The committee, capably chaired by Thomas Holyoke

(California State University Fresno), also included Sarah

Oliver (Towson University) and Meredith Conroy (California

State University San Bernadino), co-recipients of the 2018

Hahn-Sigelman Prize.

In this article, Bryant and Hellwege ask how motherhood

influences the policy focus of members of Congress who are

also mothers. As more women are elected to the United States

Congress, as well as state legislatures, the issues that get on to

the lawmaking agenda have begun to change, reflecting dif-

ferent priorities and experiences. Bryant and Hellwege find

this to be especially true of women who are mothers.

By studying the ways in which children shape the identi-

ties of women in Congress, Bryant and Hellwege find that

currently experiencing motherhood does influence the issues

and policies female members of Congress introduce and

push through the legislating process. They examine data on

bill introduced in Congress from 1973 to 2013 and find a

difference: women with young children are more likely to

sponsor bills on child health and welfare. The committee

believes this article represents a significant contribution to

the growing literature on the role of women in Congress, and

how more diverse legislatures can produces diverse legisla-

tive agendas.

The best-article prize is named in honor of two now

deceased former editors of this journal. Harlan Hahn (1939–

2008) was the founding editor of American Politics Quarterly

(which shifted from a quarterly to a bi-monthly journal in

2001). He served as editor from 1973 until 1981. His research

spanned many areas, including urban studies, health politics,

and criminal justice. A survivor of childhood polio, he was

also a strong advocate of disability rights and a pioneer in the

academic field of disability studies. He contributed to the

passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans

with Disabilities Act of 1990. Lee Sigelman (1945–2009)

edited American Politics Research from 1984 to 1988, from

the University of Kentucky, the NSF, and the University of

Arizona. He later served as editor of the American Political

Science Review, from George Washington University. Over a

long and very productive career, he authored hundreds of

articles and multiple books, won many prizes for his diverse

work on political behavior and was widely admired for his

keen insight, personal warmth, and great humor

Costas Panagopoulos

Editor, American Politics Research

939713APRXXX10.1177/1532673X20939713American Politics Research

research-article2020

2019 Hahn-Sigelman Prize