Even though there have been remarkable breakthroughs for women’s rights in the last few decades, and many more women getting involved, there are still many issues that women face in trying to get involved in the political realm today.
A study conducted by Jennifer L. Lawless of American University and Richard L. Fox of Loyola Marymount University outlined seven factors that lead to the continued gender gap between women and men in U.S. politics. These include:
- Women are more likely to view the political and electoral environment as biased towards them (Lawless and Fox). At this time, the U.S. government has a political participation of roughly twenty percent women (Schmitz). According to a table composed by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the United States still only ranks 90th out of 186 nations for the percentage of women in a representative position in the government, as of December 2011(Inter-Parliamentary Union). Many of the nations that held a higher percentage are certainly not well known for respecting human rights in general (Schmitz). For a nation that led the world to democracy, and continues to be a strong proponent, this is a horrific status.
- I certainly do not want to fail to mention that there have also been several women whose names, while big in politics, really send a shiver down many people’s spines. The candidacies of both Palin and Clinton aggravated these perceptions of biasness (Lawless and Fox). Having a strong personality and cut throat ambition is respected in most male politicians, yet when women act in the same matter, they are often disrespected, as with the example of Hillary Clinton and even Nancy Pelosi. In the case of Sarah Palin, her absentminded or non-concise comments made much of the population view her as an airhead woman.
- Women believe themselves to be less qualified for office then men would believe themselves to be (Lawless and Fox).
- Potential female candidates tend to be less confident, competitive and more risk adverse than men (Lawless and Fox).
- Women tend to regard more aspects of modern day campaigning techniques more negatively than male politicians due (Lawless and Fox). In this age of mudslinging politics and negative campaigns it takes aggression and assertiveness to gain pull and these traits are more likely to be lacking in the female gender.
- Women are less likely to receive the suggestion to run for office (Lawless and Fox). One study showed that men are 16% more likely than women to even consider running for office (Lawless and Fox).
- Women are more confined to the household role of caretaker and wife (Lawless and Fox). One reason that women do not seem to have the same ambition in the political realm is because of the cultural stigma placed upon them. Michelle Bachelet, the executive director of U.N. women and past president of Chile, claims that “women want to find a balance between work, love and family (Torregrosa).” Bachelet states how, when a man puts his work and political duty first he is respected. If a woman does the same, yet has a family and kids, she is considered a horrible mother (Torregrosa).
There is one very important aspect that I think Lawless and Fox missed in their analysis. Sexual harassment can exist in all workplaces and it certainly exists in politics. In my next post I will touch more open this particular topic.
Works Cited
Lawless, Jennifer L., and Richard L. Fox. Men Rule: The Continued Under-Representation of Women in U.S. Politics. Jan. 2012. American University: Women and Politics Institute, Washington, DC.
Schmitz, Joelle. “Women in Politics? The U.S. Is failing.” USA Today 12 Oct. 2010.
Torregrosa, Luisita L. “Evaluating Challenges Women Face.” New York Times 6 Mar. 2012.
“World Classification.” Women in Parliaments. Inter-Parliamentary Union, 31 Dec. 2011. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. <http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm>.
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