"Women may cross party lines to vote on the abortion issue before they will cross party lines to vote for another woman candidate," Kaminer says.

Voting against party ties does not happen often, Kaminer says. And predicting the way the female electorate will vote is not as simplistic as it may seem. Pressing issues and a perceived need for greater female involvement can lead a woman to the voting booth, she says, but they can't necessarily make her vote a certain way. Issues, race, ethnicity and geography influence voter decisions, and gender is "just one piece on the chessboard."

"Women candidates had better not rely on women voting for them on account of sex." she says. "For the most part, they do not."

The law of numbers, however, says that if the current trend continues, more and more women will run for office--and women, over time, will hold more and more legislative seats.

And Radcliffe President Linda S. Wilson, who has tried to propel Radcliffe further into the realm of public policy, predicts "some reordering of priorities as women become involved and a more critical mass within the legislative bodies."

It is hard to project how the government will change as its ranks are increasingly filled by women. And Kaminer is quick to issue another caveat. "Women are not monolithic," she says. "It is very unrealistic, and it is almost insulting, to expect women [legislators] to vote the same way."

Politicians, Kaminer says, are overwhelmingly loyal to their parties. "It is still a general rule in politics that people will vote with their party," she says, noting that Nancy Kassebaum (R-Kan.), one of two women Senators at the time of the Thomas hearings, "voted as a Republican" in favor of Thomas' nomination.

But one quality may apply to all women candidates. "They may take different positions on women's issues," Kaminer says, "but they will pay more attention to them."

Women politicians may place special emphasis on issues like sexual harassment and child care, Kaminer says.

Wilson adds family and child welfare, health and education to Kaminer's list of issues. In addition, she says, women "tend to look very carefully at relationship," and want to "sustain the quality of the relationship for the long term."

California State Treasurer kathleen Brown told Democratic delegates gathered last Tuesday that women are "more open in our leadership, more human and more inclusive... because of who we are and what we've experienced as women."

Radcliffe Trustee Honey Skinner says the law of numbers alone may not be enough to turn women candidates into women officeholders. To help provide outside assistance for Republican women, Skinner co-founded, and currently directs, the Women's Leadership Network, a year-old organization that supports women Republican candidates.

A Washington lawyer, Skinner works with the Women's Leadership Council to talk to Republican women and encourage the advancement of women in the party. Other organizations, including the bipartisan Emily's List, work to drum up funding and support for female Candidates--providing what Skinner thinks is a much-needed boost.

"Politics has traditionally been a very male-dominated place," says Skinner, whose husband, Samuel L. Skinner, is the White House chief of staff.

Skinner notes that it is "very difficult to raise money if you're a woman."