an intriguing item

[zirconium]

...in the March 2013 issue of Vogue:

When they do run [for Congress], [women] enjoy the same success rate as men, and when they win, their impact is disproportionate to their numbers. It's because, says a senator, "women don't get elected by putting on a flight suit and swaggering across a flight deck. They get elected by getting things accomplished, and that carries through in how they govern." Congresswomen consistently outperform men on a practical level. When it comes to winning Federal funds and support for the district, it is much better to have a woman fighting on your behalf. Political scientists have calculated that the bonus to constituents in electing a woman legislator runs to about $88 per head in government spending.

- Amanda Foreman, "The Female Factor"

[Claims like these make me long for footnotes...]