Study concludes that women in Congress have disproportionately less power than men

Knowlegis, a company founded to manage legislator/lobbyist relationships, has announced that, according to its study of 2005 records and news media mentions, women in both the House and the Senate have disproportionately less power than their male couterparts. The power rankings took into account position, committee membership, number of laws advanced, and PAC funds wielded.

Only three women, all Democrats, were ranked within the top fifty members of the House of Representatives: Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (#7), Rosa DeLauro (#25), and Deborah Pryce (#32). The highest-ranking Republican woman in the House was Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (#53).

In the Senate, women's rankings were even lower. Sen. Dianne Feinstein did not make the top ten, and Sen. Hillary Clinton was #41.

Congressional aides are reported to be upset over the report. One of them said that "their criteria seem to be slanted toward if you're a lobbyist looking for someone who can get special favors, rather than somebody who's gonna fight for ordinary people. "