By Kathy Groob, Publisher of ElectWomen Magazine and Author of Pink Politics
With just 17% of the members of Congress representing the female gender, the United States has a systemic problem—there aren’t enough women serving in elected office. More than 50 countries rank higher than the United States in women’s elected representation; we come in at 91st place.
Universities, organizations and individual foundations such as The Barbara Lee Family Foundation have spent thousands of dollars and beaucoup hours studying the reasons why the United States just can’t seem to make significant progress with getting women to run for office.
“Gender gap in political ambition is virtually the same as it was a decade ago.” Lawless & Fox, 2012
Jennifer Lawless
Associate Professor of Government at American University, Jennifer Lawless and her partner, Richard Fox of Loyola Marymount University have published a new report that concludes “when women run for office, regardless of the position they seek, they are just as likely as their male counterparts to win their races.”
So what’s the problem?
Lawless and Fox contend, “The fundamental reason for women’s under representation is that they do not run office. There is a substantial gender gap in political ambition; men tend to have it, and women don’t.”
In their 2012 report, “Men Rule”, Lawless and Fox outline seven (7) reasons women continue to be under-represented in the political theater:
- Women are substantially more likely than men to perceive the electoral environment as highly competitive and biased against female candidates.
- Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin’s candidacies aggravated women’s perceptions of gender bias in the electoral arena.
- Women are much less likely than men to think they are qualified to run for office.
- Female potential candidates are less competitive, less confidant, and more risk averse than their male counterparts.
- Women react more negatively than men to many aspects of modern campaigns.
- Women are less likely than men to receive the suggestion to run for office- from anyone.
- Women are still responsible for the majority of childcare and household tasks.
In the Barbara Lee Family Foundation’s 2011 report titled, Turning Point, 2010 elections were described as a turning point for women candidates. The report states that gender disadvantages faded and that in fact, being a woman can be a strategic asset when running for executive office.
Here’s hoping that 2012 will indeed be the year of the woman and that more women than ever will hear the calling and step up to run for office.
For more information on the Lawless & Fox report, Men Rule, click the link: http://www.american.edu/spa/wpi/upload/2012-Men-Rule-Report-web.pdf
For access to the Barbara Lee Family Foundation report, Turning Point, click the link: http://www.barbaraleefoundation.org/our-research/topics/turning-point-2010
Kathy Groob is the founder and publisher of ElectWomen Magazine, served as an elected official on city council before running for the Kentucky Senate. She is also the author of Pink Politics – The Woman’s Practical Guide to Winning Elections.
As a former Maryland State Delegate and State Senator, it took being asked to run before I considered doing so back in 1994. At that time I had 2 young sons, a law career, and other major commitments and responsibilities. However, when I was asked to run for office I realized that I had the capability of actually being a legislator. It is sad to me that well over a decade after I first ran, some women still experience the same lack of confidence as I did back in 1994, even though we now have quite a few organizations and institutions teaching campaigning for women. I believe the effort must start becoming more focused in the mainstream media and in everyday public life for there to be more women who decide to run for office since it will begin to truly resonate with women. In addition, it must be made clear that being a politician and a legislator does not require a life-long commitment, but rather is simply another avenue to make an impact. After 12 years in public office I voluntarily chose to return to the private domain, though I remain active politically. Involvement of both kinds is equally valuable, however it is important for women to be on the inside so the advocates on the outside can have an even stronger voice and reach their goals that much faster.
I was a Democratic candidate for the Texas House of Representatives in 2010. Just as your article stated and was echoed by Sharon, women are much less likely than men to believe in their qualifications for public office AND they need to be asked by many people to run. It is almost as if we require “permission” to run.
A recent study at Rutgers University shows that women in positions of political leadership bring balance to the political process, are more likely to listen, mediate and compromise on issues. They display a deeper concern for issues that affect people’s lives, especially families, children and the elderly. Isn’t this what we need right now?
A myriad of authors and articles provocatively suggest that mere gender equality is not the point of getting more females in office. Past studies of evolutionary psychologists present gender facts: men are biologically hardwired for physical strength and stamina and women, for nurturing and care-giving. Is it really necessary to have physical strength and stamina in governing? Our world doesn’t need heavy lifters much any more, because it’s mostly about service and knowledge today. If you compare the hardwired traits, the post-industrial world is better suited to the hard-wired traits of women. We need more team-building, encouragement, motivation and effective people management; not testosterone-filled risk-taking in the stock market, serial adulterers and hard-headed contentiousness.
As former female candidates, we must make it a priority to actively seek out qualified female candidates each election cycle and ask that other women do the same. Former women candidates have valuable information to share with others; we experienced the “lay of the land”, made mistakes and we need to share this information with others. We must keep convincing the general populous that a “woman’s place” is on the ballot.
America needs us more than ever before!