"Women are capable, but men have the money," Rep. Barbara Jordan (D-Tex.) told a receptive audience of about 150 in the Kirkland House Junior Common Room yesterday, as part of her two-day engagement as a Visiting Fellow of the Institute of Politics.

Jordan, who is noted for her membership on the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate hearings, said the stigma of being a woman in government did not hinder her performance. "I ignored it. You cannot succeed in politics is you are to withdraw into some self-concept that "because I am a woman, I can't,'" she said.

She came with no prepared speech and after several anecdotes about her rise to prominence, Jordan accepted questions from the group.

In The Lion's Den

In 1967 Jordan was elected the first black member of the Texas state senate, which contained "30 White, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant men... and myself," she said.

"It is very convenient to have sex and color to pull on if everything else fails," Jordan added afterwards, at a reception for black students at Winthrop House, "We shouldn't use black as a crutch. I don't feel like hobbling on the crutch and making it an excuse for mediocrity."

Jordan, who gave the keynote address at the 1976 Democratic National Convention, said yesterday she preferred to work through the party structure rather than independently to achieve political goals, but recommended that the friendly crowd do what is "comfortable."

"I believe in a strong two-party system, but I want the Democrats to be in control," she said at the Winthrop gathering yesterday.

Jordan said she prefered the attitude toward race in the South because the people at least recognize problems; "I only recently found out it was the air down South that was the air I needed to breathe," she said.

Bakke Blues

Jordan said she could tolerate the Bakke decision, but added, "I would have preferred that the Supreme Court hand down a more resolute decision. I think that their reluctance to come to grips with the issue of reverse discrimination simply prolongs it for several years to come."

The six-year veteran of the House decided not to run for re-election. Instead, she will teach public service at the Lyndon Johnson School of Public Affairs in Texas. Jordan returns home today after a breakfast with Texas students, an Adams House reception, and a luncheon at the Kennedy School.