Coming a Long Way

"Why can't a woman be more like a man?" lamented Professor Henry Higgins in the 1956 musical My Fair Lady. Now it seems the average female congressional candidate is--at least when it comes to political fund raising. According to a study released last week by the Washington-based Women's Campaign Research Fund, female House candidates in 1982 raised virtually as much as male candidates, an average of $218,745, vs. $234,463, or 93%. By comparison, women raised 86% as much as men in 1980, 77% as much in 1978, and only 67% as much in 1976.

The study, which surveyed all 3,271 major-party House candidates from 1976 to 1982, found that men and women obtained their campaign funds from the same sources. For 1982, both groups received nearly 50% from small donors (ones who gave less than $500), 30% from political-action committees, 16% from big donors and 6% to 8% from political parties.

Contrary to popular belief, said the study, the main hurdle for women in political fund raising is not their gender but the fact that they are outnumbered by men in the House 22 to 413.

Thus they rarely enjoy the advantages of incumbency. Says Jody Newman, director of the study: "What we need to do is to get more women running in the most winnable races."