SISTERHOOD WELL-CLOAKED IN CONGRESS New lawmakers hire few women for top staff posts ON THE POLITICAL SCENE FINAL Edition

• Published in: The Sun (Baltimore, Md. : 1837)
• Main Author: Drummond, Bob
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Baltimore, Md Tribune Publishing Company, LLC 27.03.1993
• Subjects: WASHINGTON
• ISSN: 1930-8965

Among three positions considered the most prestigious and best-paying on Capitol Hill -- administrative assistant, legislative director and press secretary -- the newly elected congresswomen and senators hired women for about four of every 10 jobs. In fact, only California's Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer -- and only two of the 24 new female House members -- matched the performance of beleaguered Oregon Republican Sen. Bob Packwood by filling all three top Washington jobs with women. Mr. Packwood is fighting for his political life against demands that he resign because of allegations about inappropriate behavior toward women. Female aides did better at snaring jobs as legislative directors, capturing fully half of the positions filled by new congresswomen, compared with 34.7 percent for the entire House a year ago. But their prospects as press secretaries fell slightly: Women got 42.1 percent of the jobs offered by newly elected female House members, down from 45.6 percent for the House as a whole in 1992.