Gender

Sustaining gains by minorities in government becomes complicated as their ranks grow and the circumstances that allowed their unique candidacies to flourish evolve. Questions about how to ensure a more inclusive environment over the long term remain at issue. For example, a record 95 women were elected to serve in the 111th Congress — among 435 House and 100 Senate seats — but that number fell to 92 for the 112th Congress.

Despite progress in many areas of American professional life, women currently hold less than 17% of national-level elected offices, a lower rate than most of the developed world. The 2010 elections brought about the first-ever decrease in the female-to-male ratio in Congress since the first female representative was in 1916.

A lower resting heart rate partially explains why men commit more crime than women, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.

From the Scholars Strategy Network, written by Katrina Kimport, University of California, San Francisco.