We like to believe that the United States is a country that people look up to as an exemplar nation. However, there are many aspects where, as a nation, we can make substantial improvements, and one of those is giving women more opportunities for political leadership.
Dr. Jennifer Lawless, director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University, tells us that in the United States, there are several reasons why it is harder for women to be in political offices. There are structural barriers, where many women are not in positions that allow them to grow into opportunities for political office. Women also face situational barriers where specific circumstances, like the fact that male politicians continue to get re-elected and dominate political office, limit women’s chances for entering political arenas.
Lawless shared the findings she and her team made on studies about whether men and women face different kinds of media coverage when running for office and when they are elected. Lawless helped debunk the myth that, when women run for political elections and then when they go on to hold office, they face more sexist media coverage and critique. Overall, Lawless tells us that her research demonstrates that “media coverage does not do much to stereotype” by gender and sex or to discriminate within the terrain of political campaigns. Once we debunk the belief that sexism within politics is so severe, help encourage women to believe in themselves, provide them the resources to be able to run in political elections, and give them our support, then America can begin to close the gender gap in electoral political offices.
Thinking about the intersectionality of race, class, and gender brings into question how women of color are represented in society. Throughout the United States, we see that women of color remain highly unrepresented, especially within the political realm. The majority of women who are able to run for election are white, upper and middle class women who have great track records of education, involvement with organizations and communities, excellent connections, and the privilege of having the time and money to spend campaigning. Certainly poor white women face issues and obstacles regarding money and connections to people in power, but if we look at the experiences of poor women of color, they have to overcome many more obstacles and transcend race barriers in certain spaces, simply to be able to reach the playing field inhabited by white, middle and upper class women. Therefore, we have to ask ourselves how we can help and allow for a level playing field that allows women from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and poor women of color in particular, to be able to enter the political arena. Their experiences as women of color from lower socioeconomic backgrounds allows them to bring important issues to light about the impacts of intersectional identities on life experiences and opportunities. They will be able to propose legislation that will help other people in struggling situations and understand the importance of not marginalizing specific groups and their experiences.
Written by Ana Gamiño, ’18