The Double Bind

“Of course it’s one of those questions that I don’t think a man has ever been asked when he is running for office,” says Nancy Pelosi, current House Minority Leader after she was asked about her children when she was running for office. "Don't talk about if she's had some plastic surgery unless you're going to talk about the fact that he's had hairplugs. Don't talk about if she's a fit mother if you're not going to talk about whether he's a fit father," states Jehmu Green, president of the Women's Media Center explaining Gloria Steinem's concept of "reversibility" which calls for equal treatment for female candidates. Potential voters are not capable of fairly reviewing the issue positions of a female candidate due to amount of unfair questions they deceive during debates or speeches.

When one reflects upon the various characteristics of all the previous presidents in the history of America, one trait has remained unchanged: they have all been male. In well over 200 years and 57 presidential elections, the United States has never elected a woman as president. Still more telling, a woman has never even been nominated to run for president at the top of the ticket of a major national political party in the U.S., and only two, Geraldine Ferraro and Sarah Palin, have been selected for the number two slot. Nevertheless, women have been running for the nation’s highest office even before they earned the right to vote in 1920 with the passage of the 19th Amendment. In 1872 Victoria Claflin Woodhull became the first woman to

The political effect of women in politics cannot be felt with a great magnitude in America. This is because; during this period most women participated in religious, social, economic as well as political activism rather than focusing on occupying real political seats. During 1500-2000 women participated in religious, human rights, education, antislavery, and social reform leadership and activism (Bonnie, 565). Nevertheless, in the 20th century, American women were seen to be more vibrant in politics among them Hillary Clinton who has been

Equality for women has been an ongoing debate for years. Most people recognize the inequality for women in areas besides the business world. However, women in politics is one of the most well-known topics. Until a few years ago, the thought of having a woman as president was absurd. It wasn’t until the 2008 election that the idea of a woman for president would change drastically. Both Sarah Palin and Hilary Clinton decided to run in the 2008 presidential election. Although neither of the two were elected, they both still made a dramatic impact on the views of women in politics. Michelle Bernard states that the 2008 election was a breakthrough for women in general. However, Marie Cocco disagrees, stating that the loss was a major disappointment for women. Although both authors feel strongly about their

During a discussion in a class, a controversial topic was brought up that led to opposing political views . On the one hand, some argue that having a certain gender shouldn't define qualifications for a job. On the other hand, some see at it as a weakness for the nation. Traditionally throughout history, white male presidents have run this country. The 2008 marked the first time in history a non-white male became president. During Obama’s presidency, his work and programs have helped improve the nation’s economy, unemployment rate, education, and health system. Electing this non-white president showed our racial progress as a nation. This opened many doors and opportunities for Americans who believed that

In 2013, Deborah Jordan Brooks wrote the book, Gender Stereotypes Do Not Harm Women Candidates. Her controversial findings brought a new perspective to the conversation about gender stereotypes in contemporary American politics. There are many that believe that the reason that female political candidates start off with at a disadvantage is because of their gender and the expectations of behavior that go along with being a woman. Brooks decided to take this theory to the test so she created a comprehensive study, He Runs, She Runs.

Gender stereotypes–oversimplified ideas of female or male qualities and mannerisms–exist in all areas of life. In the political sphere, stereotypes, such as women not being outspoken or authoritative, negatively influence women and pose barriers to those who are running for political leadership positions. Because women are stereotypically viewed as “warm, gentle, kind, and passive,” in comparison to the typical man that is viewed as “tough, aggressive and assertive,” women feel that their qualities are not suited for political candidacy (Huddy, Nayda). Women are indirectly told through stereotyping that the political arena is unsuitable for their gender; therefore, they pursue careers they feel are suitable for their “feminine” character traits. The higher level of male participation, in comparison to female participation, in political elections is not because the electoral environment “favours” stereotypical male qualities, but rather, the campaigning, and public speaking aspects of the election process are perceived as unsuitable for women. Furthermore, a study conducted in 2014 discovered that voters tend to assign “positive leadership traits to male politicians,” whereas female politicians are repeatedly depicted as having “other characteristics that are not equated with political leadership” such as their physical image (Thomas, Kei). Much like in everyday life, stereotypes drive women to believe they are not capable of running for office or unlikely to win elections despite their exceeding qualifications. Even though stereotypes will always exist, it is important for young women to reflect on their leadership qualities and not allow deeply-rooted stereotypes in the political arena to impede their pursuit of a career in

Women are constantly breaking down social barriers that kept them in the dark for decades. However, there is still inconsistent with underrepresentation of women as politicians, prosecutors, judges, and other advanced professions. Despite giving more women more human rights there is a lack of representation of women. In a 2016 article, Women in Leadership, author Alan Greenblatt states, “The lack of women in congress shows that America is still an inequality between the genders. There are nearly 3 times the men in office compared to women,” (Greenblatt). When there is a bill that needs to be passed that impacts women’s body/life, men are making the choice on whether to pass the bill. In March 2017, Vice President Mike Pence had a meeting with

The proposed model seeks to elucidate the affect of female candidate’s rhetorical competence and how it relates to their electability. Through the application of political party, personal evaluation and gender expectations of the female candidate, in conjunction to the current political climate of the election, will positively establish the female candidate’s electability. The role of this model is to establish a flow of perception of the female candidate and how it affects the candidate’s chances to get elected into office.

Women are often seen as less competent than men, even when they are equally qualified. The number of women holding political office in the United States is dismal. Women, while

When women run for political positons is seems as if they are being judge based on the appearance and wardrobe rather than their ideas and qualifications (DiConsiglio 2015). While men can be tough and warm at the same time, but for women, it is a trade-off. Time and time again Clinton is being scrutinized by their male counterparts. Clinton supporters squawked about the double standard that condemns her but not Sanders, who bellows at the top of his lungs. At her events she is portrayed in a maternal role, it has been said that when she is yelling that it seems as if she is yelling at you. However, when Bernie yells, it is contribute to his dedication to the cause (Milbank 2016). “Moreover, she has a family foundation that makes charitable donations, and is consistently challenged about whether she gave official favors to international donors. He's got a family foundation that gave a political donation to a state attorney general who decided not to investigate one of his businesses, and suffers little fallout” (Milligan

Hillary Clinton is a strong female and taking on a males role if elected to be president. She will be faced with Balance defined as, ”to balance masculinity and femininity” (Gender, p.143). Of course, this is exciting to see and the fact the she can balance masculinity is amazing and many females will look up to her as the new ideal. Many males don’t believe that females can do the job because of our gender. Being a female don’t mean that we are less capable of preforming a males job and there for we are forced to prove them wrong and balance but being masculinity and femininity.

For my research question I will be asking: “How is America making progress on gender equity?” Fundamentally, I believe that women are still misrepresented, and are still facing many challenges in the workplace, especially in the business world. The gender stereotypes play a considerable role in the way the society sees women as leaders. However, it will be judicious to consider the small but noticeable changes that have been made over the past years concerning gender equality in the American workplace.

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,

What truly makes a state masculine or feminine? In Hofstede’s study of the masculinity of countries, one of the areas that are explored is the leadership of women in political offices. When one looks at a female running for political office in the United States, many factors play a role, the political culture of the individual state, the masculinity or femininity of the state, female candidates, political parties and their willingness to embrace a female candidate, female candidates verses male candidates, and the stereotypes of female political leaders.