National Security Oversight: Still a Man’s World
Katina Slavkova | December 5, 2019
Women’s representation has made significant gains in politics. Women are major contenders for the Presidency and are increasingly winning office at the national, state, and local levels. Women comprising a quarter of Congress may be small in an absolute sense, but it is truly historic. Yet within the legislative branch, that influence is not felt everywhere. In particular, national security lacks female voices. In order to better assess this problem, more data is needed, as well as a better understanding of what we lose when women aren’t at the table.
Historic Gains for Women in Congress
The 2018 midterms ushered in some notable and historic firsts. Congress, especially, saw the impact of record numbers of women, Native Americans, Muslim Americans, and LGBTQ candidates who were on the ballot, and Americans were rewarded with one of the most diverse congressional classes ever.
The gains made by women in congressional races were particularly notable. Not since 1992 (dubbed “Year of the Woman” for electing more new women to Congress than in any previous decade) have voters sent so many freshman female lawmakers to the House of Representatives. While the gains in the Senate did not match the inroads made in the House, overall the 2018 midterms delivered some impressive results for women.
These historic results have in turn altered the day-to-day functioning of Congress. Notably, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, elected as the first woman Speaker of the House in 2007, is now serving for a second time in that role. Additionally, a record six women are now chairing committees in the House, including the powerful Appropriations, Financial Services, and Oversight and Reform Committees. According to data compiled by the Center for American Women and Politics, this is the most women to ever chair House committees; the closest was the 110th Congress (2007-2009) when four congresswomen wielded gavels, on panels without the same agenda-setting power or oversight clout.
Where the Women Aren’t: National Security
Unfortunately, based on research conducted for this piece, the expanded influence of women in Congress does not touch all major policy areas. In particular, a more detailed analysis is warranted for national security and foreign affairs matters to glean whether women are making an impact.
One should not be surprised that this issue area in general lacks female voices. It has been well established that the national security policy and decision-making processes at senior levels (both in and out of the government) are notoriously lacking in gender diversity. For Congress specifically, AEI Research Fellow Mackenzie Eaglen notes that the House and Senate Armed Services committees, the primary oversight bodies of defense matters, are overwhelmingly taking testimony from male witnesses.
Eaglen examines hearing data from the 115th and first session of the 116th Congress. Whereas congressional committees need to call administration officials based on their position and not gender diversity, this does not apply to outside experts. Nonetheless, the hearing data shows that of the 45 hearings with outside experts, 73% were entirely male and none were entirely female.
This is an extremely discouraging trend showing women’s voices and experiences are significantly underrepresented in shaping and overseeing policies on high stakes national security matters.
A fuller examination is needed to assess whether women are truly welcome in congressional national security debates. As such, data has been compiled here for committees beyond Armed Services that have a national security focus in their oversight responsibilities. For both women leading and serving on these committees, as well as outside witnesses testifying, the results are troubling.
Women Rarely Lead National Security Committees
No woman in either the House or Senate is currently in charge of a committee that oversees defense, intelligence, homeland security, foreign affairs or other national security matters more broadly. Sen. Dianne Feinstein is the lone female member of this rarefied club serving in a leadership position as a ranking minority member on the Judiciary committee, and has previously chaired the Intelligence Committee.
One small piece of good news is that the proportional representation of women on some of these committees is better compared to other committees that don’t include defense and national security in their oversight portfolios. But even here Congress is sending some mixed signals.
For example, on the House side, out of twenty-one committees (not including the five joint committees and the select committees on the Climate Crisis and Modernization of Congress) the Homeland Security Committee is a standout by placing second in the percentage of women serving on the committee. Only Appropriations and Education and Labor who shared the first spot have a slightly better score. Judiciary is fourth but Armed Services ranks at the unremarkable eighth position.
Sadly, the Intelligence and Foreign Affairs committees are at the bottom of the pack with some of the worst women’s representation. Foreign Affairs, committee that is literally in charge of war and peace decisions, placed dead last. It has only seven women out of forty-seven total members, or less than fifteen percent.
On the Senate side, things are not much better. In fact, out of nineteen committees (not including the four joint committees and the Special Committee on Aging) Foreign Relations has the “distinction” of having the worst women’s representation, just like its House counterpart. There is only one woman currently serving on this committee. The Senate Intelligence Committee does not fare much better and is almost a mirror image of its House counterpart – only three women out of fifteen members versus four out of twenty-two for the House Intelligence panel. The gender diversity of Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security puts them in the middle of pack. The standout star on the Senate side is Armed Services; only five other committees had better women representation.
National Security Hearings Lack Female Testimony
Additionally, the numbers are dismal on hearing data from the Foreign Affairs, Homeland Security, and Intelligence committees in the House, and the Foreign Relations, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and Intelligence committees in the Senate for the 115th and the first session of the 116th Congress. For this article, every hearing was reviewed that each of these committees has conducted with outside witnesses during the relevant time period. Just as with Ms. Eaglen’s findings for the Armed Services committee, a broader search confirms that Congress is overwhelmingly choosing to hear from male experts when it comes to national security.
Out of 304 total hearings examined, only nine featured all-female witness panels, compared to 107 that were composed of only men. In addition, only twenty-nine of the hearings featured a mixed panel with more female than male witnesses. In total, these committees heard from 713 male outside witnesses versus only 288 women.
One committee, House Foreign Affairs, did manage to improve its numbers significantly over the period examined. During the first session of the 116th, House Foreign Affairs heard from ninety-three male outside witnesses and seventy women. For comparison, the same committee during the 115th Congress took testimony from 281 men and only ninety-one women. However, none of the remaining committees enjoyed a similar improvement.
Why This Matters
This gender gap does not bode well for Congress or for the country. If these trends continue, national security oversight and policy-making will be robbed of the benefits of a more balanced and diverse perspective. Beyond important concerns about equity and perspective is the finding that women govern differently with respect to policy. Georgetown Professor (and GAI friend) Michele Swers notes the difference women make for policy. Secretary Clinton’s efforts to highlight women’s roles in this policy space show just how many potential policy areas benefit from a focus on women. Women may be half the population and half the sky, but they need a greater voice in national security.
Categories: Committees, Congressional Policy Issues, Foreign Affairs, Intelligence Oversight, Media Center, National Security, Revise & Extend, Updates