Many people have posited theories as to why the percentage of women involved in electoral politics in the United States is so low – ranked ninety three out of one hundred and eighty one countries in the United Nations. The theories range from gender stereotyping of the qualities of a good leader to media treatment of women candidates to the family responsibilities of women. People argue that women do not run for office and that the careers they choose do not track into political leadership. There are several solutions to these perceived problems.
If it is true that women do not run for office, then society as a whole needs to encourage women to do so through the educational system. The educational system can also provide incentives for women who enter fields that track into political leadership – through scholarships, grants and other considerations. Since twenty six percent of Congress members are lawyers by occupation, women should be encouraged to achieve law degrees. Women should also be encouraged to become executives and educators – twenty three percent and fourteen percent of Congress, respectively. They should also be encouraged to enter the field of public service (nineteen percent).
If it is true that the media treats female candidates differently than male candidates, then society should discourage this practice. Media networks are money-making machines, and if their treatment of women candidates does not sell to the American public, they will change their treatment of these candidates. Networks provide information to the public in exchange for advertising revenues. Advertising revenues are determined by the number of people watching the network. If the society made an effort to boycott media outlets which do not treat candidates equally, the society would be refusing to support these outlets, which would then lose revenue. To facilitate change in a capitalist society, revenue has to be threatened by the people (and this is why labor unions strike).
Together, the media and the educational system can help to ameliorate the gender stereotypes of the qualities – self-confidence, determination and decisiveness – considered essential in a good leader. Women are just as self-confident, determined and decisive as men and media is a powerful medium for expressing this fact. Education often allows women to fully express their self-confidence, determination and decisiveness. After all, education is designed to facilitate qualities intended to enhance the society as a whole – and those include the qualities of a good leader.
These endeavors would require that the government make women in electoral politics a priority through both funding and laws. Solving the problem of the family responsibilities of women, which seems to deter them from political participation, would require the society as a whole to re-think their priorities. If the society wants to include more women in America’s electoral politics, then the society has to discover the means to make the family less of a burden on women. Responsibility for the family should be shared equally among men and women. In order for this to occur, the society needs to re-imagine accepted gender roles. The woman should not be forced into the role of primary caregiver for the family simply on the basis of her sex.
At their core, all of these solutions require American society as a whole to reconsider the issue of gender in politics.
Part Two:
