In Chapter 5, “Women As Legislators” Han Discusses The

In addition to the arguments above there are some very strong disadvantages to this system such as it excludes women from the legislature. The ‘most broadly acceptable candidate’ syndrome also affects the ability of women to be elected to legislative office because they are often less likely to be selected as candidates by male-dominated party structures. Although the evidence across the world suggests that women are less likely to be elected to the

Female representation is impediment for Political matters and topics regarding women decided by the Federal Government. For example, in 2006, female Senators from all main parties united and supported a bill to change legislation on the abortion pill, removing the Health Minister Tony Abbott’s right to retain the veto on the introduction of the

Overall, the representation of elected women now stands at about 25 % at each level of government, including on municipal councils, in provincial/territorial legislatures and at federal level. (Parliament of Canada, 2016) With this significant gender parity in politics, the paper examines the causes of the under-representation of Canadian women in politics. Findings are based on scholarly articles and their analyzed data on why do fewer Canadian women run for political office. When taken together, the results presented in this paper argues that (1) unwelcoming environment (women and family unfriendly working environment) with lack of support in political engagement, (2) women’s experience of exclusion, paternalism and systemic discrimination in political realm, and (3) media’s portrayal of women as to be marginalized by the society are what cause Canadian women to be under-represented in politics. Finally, the paper raises an interesting question from the topic of gender disparity into further discussion of the discrimination within discriminated group women other than those privileged ones who are likely to be selected in public

The most adequate of women are being scared away from the political race because of the sexist attacks against women in government. The most suitable women look at past candidates and witness the attacks on them and choose to avoid the political

In reality, however, women are equally and in some ways more qualified to hold leadership positions than men. Although there is no single explanation for why women are underrepresented in politics, the gender gap in the political arena stems from the lack of female participation in elections as women are often discouraged or feel threatened by society to run for political office. Young women who aspire a career in politics encounter both structural and emotional barriers, which prevent them from running for political office. Women battle issues of self-confidence, face stereotypes, and derive false perceptions of political campaigns, all of which broaden the gender gap in the political

There have been many significant strides since 1970 when women occupied almost no major elective positions in U.S. political institutions. Today’s society has reflected remarkable changes in women’s equality and acceptance. In 2008, Hillary Clinton received 18 million votes when she fought for presidency of the Democratic Party . In 2011, Sarah Palin was listed at the top of her candidates for the Republican presidential nomination. However, women are consistently being underrepresented in the political world reaching beyond just the federal level. Clyde and Thomas attest the underrepresentation to two basic reasons: lack of political ambition as well as historic exclusion of women from professions that tend to lead toward the political arena . Three central barriers contribute to the difficult road ahead for the

Many women have faced difficult paths to get elected into office whether they are Hispanic, African American, or White. Even if they had all the qualities or they were overqualified they failed based on their gender, race, or lack of confidence in themselves.

Swers, M. L. (2002). The Difference Women Make: The Policy Impact of Women in Congress. Chicago: London: University of Chicago Press.

The U.S. Congress is only 17% female. As a result, the decisions made by congressmen will tend to favor men. “We are shortchanging voices that are urgently needed in public forms from ever getting to the table.” (Booker) I do not think that it is merely the media to blame for girls not wanting to become involved in politics. I feel as though girls should be leaders in politics only if they want to. Although we need way more female representatives, this does not mean that girls should be forced to do something that they are not interested in.

Women in Congress are necessary because they go beyond the role of what a Congressman can do, have more experience from working various state and local positions, as well as use their elected positions to create paths for other successful women to run for office. Women in Congress are necessary not only because they are women, but because they are more qualified individuals as compared to their male counterparts. As stated in the study, women

Not only were women voting for their nation’s officials, they were some of the ones being elected. Starting in as early as 1866, women had been running for various public offices and in some rare cases they won the election. For example, Susanna Salter was elected mayor of Argonia, Kansas in 1887; Martha Hughes Cannon was elected to the Utah State Senate in 1896; and Jeannette Rankin entered the United States House of Representatives in 1917. By the 1920s, women had become more involved in government and were being elected in greater numbers. They had the opportunity and power to organize laws and bills that they had

When Sylvia Bashevkin wrote “ the higher, the fewer” it was to indicate a pattern in women's political participation. The number of women in politics drops as one moves upward to the upper tiers of government, federal or provincial. The gap between the number of women involved in politics to the number of women in the country is still too wide. Over half the population is female and yet less than 25% were Members of Parliament in 2011. As of 2016 only 31% of senators were female. This gap highlights the need to continue to pursue the feminist movement.

Women are underrepresented in political offices at the national and local levels. Currently, only 17 women serve in the United States Senate out of 100 seats and only 16 percent of the United States House of Representatives are female. Why is this a problem? Legislatures, the House of

The political arena is a tough place to be part of, especially during a campaign. Your opponent and their supporters are constantly watching your every move with the hopes that you will make a mistake, or that somebody will find some detrimental dirt on you. Now imagine also being a woman, not only will you have to face the hardships that male candidates cope with but you will also have to handle the adversity based on your gender and the stereotypes that go along with being a female. Women have to be prepared to confront the fact that they may not even be wanted in that setting. For example Margaret Carlson stated,

New Zealand was the first country to give women the right to vote in 1893, however, since then we have dropped to 27th when it comes to gender representation in government, out of 188 countries. One of the many reasons as to why women are under represented in parliament can be linked to the issue of the political obstacles that face women. This is when they want to be in parliament, women whom are in parliament, and the many women who this is not an option for due to lack of opportunity. Women have to face this “masculine model” of politics and government. Men are dominant in parliament, meaning that political life revolves around male norms and values (Shvedova). This can be extended, politics is very much about competition and confrontation. Rather than politics being