Like most state legislatures, Indiana’s 2017 General Assembly is largely made up of business owners and lawyers. A lawmaker’s occupation is one of many factors that may influence how he or she legislates, but experts say it can have a big impact.
“If you change the mix of occupations represented in the legislature, you change the mix of attitudes on laws,” said Paul Helmke, a professor of practice at Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs. “It’s just natural.”
A business owner who has had to meet a payroll will likely have a different perspective on the minimum wage issue than a laborer who has been in union contract negotiations, he said. A public school teacher probably has a different view on education policy than someone who sent their kids to a private school.
“The perspective you bring when you vote, a lot of times, is based on what you’re doing in life,” Helmke said.
That’s why people are concerned with the race, occupation, gender and ethnicity of their elected officials, said Marjorie Hershey, professor of political science at IU.
“One argument traditionally has been the more a legislature looks like the kinds of people it’s representing, its members really understand what the population needs and wants and will put up with,” she said.
When it comes to occupations, the Indiana General Assembly doesn’t exactly mirror the state’s workforce. According to occupational employment statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor for May 2015 — the most recent available online — Indiana’s 92,490 retail salespersons accounted for the largest percentage of the state’s 2.9 million workers. Combined food preparation and service workers made up the second-largest category, with 84,250 people.