Lone Woman in Mayoral Race Steps Up Appeal to Female Voters Christine C. Quinn campaigning on the Staten Island Ferry on Monday. It is not every day that a mayoral candidate is asked about her backhand. "Not that good," Christine C. Quinn responded to the passer-by outside the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. It's not going to get me into Gracie. Ms. Quinn was at the opening day of the United States Open, where she was endorsed by a woman whose tennis game did make her career, Billie Jean King. Ms. Quinn called Ms. King "a woman who didn't change sports for women and girls, but really changed this country - and this world - for women and girls." Ms. King praised Ms. Quinn as "a great problem solver," and said that her election as mayor would send "a very strong message to boys and girls that you can be anything." As the primary election nears, Ms. Quinn, the only woman in a crowded field of Democratic candidates for mayor, is making a concerted effort to reach out to female voters, attending events that highlight her interest in women's issues and her support from prominent women. On Sunday, she appeared with Gloria Steinem at City Hall to announce a "women's agenda," including a proposal to provide eight weeks of paid family leave to workers with less than $100,000 in income a year. On Monday, to mark the 93rd anniversary of the certification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, Ms. Quinn attended a series of events centered on women's issues around the city: an all-women's breakfast on the Upper East Side, the appearance with Ms. King, a news conference with Representative Carolyn B. Maloney on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment and an announcement in Brooklyn of her plan to create several all-girls middle schools focused on science and technology. She ended the day uptown, with a round-table discussion in the Bronx with Latinas, a rally of Dominican women at her campaign office in Washington Heights and a meet-and-greet for women at Melba's Restaurant in Harlem with the Tony Award-winning actress Audra McDonald. So far the polls have not shown a significant gender gap between Ms. Quinn and her opponents, which many say she will need to win the primary. "Women will be probably about 60 percent of the turnout, and that's clearly one of her strengths to try to become the first female mayor," Jerry Skurnick, a political consultant, said. If she doesn't win the women's vote by a large margin, she doesn't have much of a chance. On Monday, Ms. Quinn took questions from women of widely varying circumstances, with varying concerns. In a Fifth Avenue apartment, women in jewel-toned dresses sat drinking coffee and nibbling little scones while firing questions about her plans for parks and public spaces, and how she would negotiate with "masters of the universe" who were not used to dealing with a woman. In the Bronx, women wanted to know what she would do for elderly homeless people and teenage mothers, and if she could promise that public employees" pensions were secure. In a morning appearance at the St. George Ferry Terminal, and on a ride on the Staten Island Ferry, many women came up asking for photos with Ms. Quinn. A few said her gender played a role in their support - "I wanted Hillary, let's at least get Christine," one said - but others said they simply thought she was the most accomplished candidate. Asked whether she thought she would be able to open up a gender gap in the polls, Ms. Quinn said, "Look, who knows?" But she said that she felt "a real sense of excitement from women and girls." "There's a high number of moms and grandmothers," she said, "bringing little girls over to have their pictures taken, which is very, very sweet. And the little girl might say, "Mama, is that the lady you told me about?" "