This study will enhance the knowledge on was gender bias the primary factor that led to the 2016 election. This study will do that by building on the existing research that has been done on this issue. Also, it will further the knowledge on previous studies that has been done. Although there have not been many studies conducted on the 2016 presidential election, there have been studies that have focused on gender bias in other elections that will determine if gender bias was a primary factor in the 2016 presidential election. In the existing literature, it has been shown that there are different views on gender bias in elections. The literature has shown that men’s and women’s political beliefs, values, or issue position differs, leading to different electoral choice (Sapiro and Conover, 1997, Page 498). This causes women to be underrepresented in political offices. As of 2015, only about 20% of the House and Senate are women (Kropf and Grassett, 2017, Page 83). Also, most of it is caused by voters looking at their gender and believing that a woman will not be able to uphold the standards in political office. In one study it states that gender bias in political leadership can be traced back to …show more content…
Women who are running for a political position are set to a higher standard than men are. Women must strike a balance between campaigning on issues in line with public expectations and appearing tough on issues that are considered male areas of expertise (Turcotte and Paul, 2015, Page 773). It is known that people feel that women are not qualified for leadership positions. According to Marian Sawer, in general, qualities associated with leadership such as strength, authority and decisiveness are regarded as male traits, while double standards are often applied to women displaying such traits (Sawer, 2012, Page
In relation to leadership and women, historically women who wanted to seek leadership roles were often seen projecting the traditional masculine model of leadership. This model means to be rational, unemotional and analytic. It also, means in order to succeed traditionally women needed to look and act like a man to be taken seriously in leadership positions. Women in the past often dressed up in suits and ties and anything feminine was seen as an internal “weakness”. To be a leader in power meant to exude confidence in masculinity and shy away from anything remotely girly. As opposed, to the feminine model which casts power as focused on connection and harmony instead of power over something, someone. This power can be skilled through collective gain or physical attractiveness (Kruse 22).
On November 1912, women won the right to vote in Arizona. This period of time marked a lot of changes for women and politics in Arizona. Women had to struggle against a male dominated society that influenced their vote despite their new freedom to vote as they saw fit. The right to vote eventually led to a proliferation of women running for local, state, and national offices. Those running for office faced skepticism about their capabilities as a politician, concern over whether they had the drive, intelligence, and strength to face down opponents within the political arena. Despite these obstacles, women have proven to be successful politicians and have infiltrated the ranks of male dominated government systems, both within states and nationwide. Today, women are virtually equal to men as far as their capabilities are concerned, yet are still under-represented in the national political scene. By reviewing a brief history of a few women in politics in Arizona and examining current political themes, a platform is formed that allows an understanding and recognition of the struggles and progression of women in politics today.
In the book, Sally Helgesen cites the “Feminine Principles” brought forth by Anita Roddick, who is the founder of The Body Shop as basic principles that could help to distinguish, or rather help to further define men and women leaders. The principles include, caring, making intuitive decisions, not getting hung up on hierarchy, having a sense of work being part of your life, putting labor where your love is, being responsible to the world and knowing that the bottom line should not be the only driving factor. These are the principles that encompass the “feminine principles” within the context of the text. While these principles are broad, they are not exclusive to women, however, women in general exhibit these qualities in more pounced ways than men.
The American Government was designed to represent the people who are voting members of society. When analyzing the makeup of government, one could find that women have become an integral part to American politics. With the rise of female politicians, minority female political leaders still tend to come in low numbers. One could argue that the inclusion of minority females in politics is solely up to women. The responsibility of representing the American population as a whole should not be solely placed on one designated person or group but rather a collective effort of all. Minority females are typically seen at the negative end of statistics rather it is in education, health care, employment and the economy.
However, the female participation in politics is a staggeringly low number, thus in the Global Gender Gap report of 2016, it ranked Canada 35 out of 144 countries (Forum,2016). Having Canadian women more involved in politics ensures that different perspectives and opinions are represented where it matters the most, in the government that organizes and creates all the legislations. Policies such as abortion rights should not be determined by men, but by women who can relate to or understand the grounds of the rights. The barriers that women face can easily be diminished with effort. The media can do its part and treat female politicians like they treat their male counterparts, based on their proposed policies and not by what they may be wearing at the time. Families and society itself need to drop the “traditional family” model and realize that modern families share responsibilities so that both parents can strive in their respected careers. Lastly women themselves need to be reminded that if they have the right qualifications, they could go as far as they want, specifically in politics. By becoming a politician, they could still be a good wife and/or mother, but their self-perception needs to be improved by those around them who need to encourage them. Female politicians would be beneficial for everyone in a community, as the standard of who can lead a country changes and people realize that women are capable and qualified as
In 2008 the first woman was awarded the position of Speaker of the House, and Hillary Clinton ran for president. While Hillary had widespread support leading people to believe that the two different genders had reached equality, there were several that doubted whether or not a woman has what it takes to be a president. The women that came into power that was generally held by men, needed to perform a balancing act. This balancing act was between the characteristics of women and projecting the masculine strength and leadership needed to hold their position (Jenen 14). This problem in society has been continuing on for a long time. In the 1970’s women had no standing in academia. That women were no use to the department they were studying and
Wilson, Marie C. Closing the Leadership Gap Why Women Can and Must Help Run the World. New York: Viking Adult, 2004. Print
The underrepresentation of female’s interests and values is a global phenomenon as there is no country where women are equally represented on all levels of government. Since most women in the Western World gained the right to vote, there is no area of human life or development sector which is immune from the impact of inequitable gender relations. The central thesis of this paper is that women’s underrepresentation in elected office creates serious problems. This paper begins by analysing the key barriers of women to get into politics, especially into leading positions. It will then go on to the argument that women have special interests and needs, and that male politicians cannot represent those concerns adequately. Additionally, this paper describes further problems in today’s political world, such as women’s identification with
One major factor in why women did not reach equality in America in the past century was their underrepresentation in local, state, and federal politics. Between 1917, when Jeanette Rankin became the first woman to serve in the United States Congress, and 2000, only 219 women have been elected as US representatives or senators. Of these, only 28 have been women of color. In contrast, in the 20th century over a thousand men served in Congress, and 132 men of color. In the 106th United States Congress (which met from 1999-2001) only 58 of the 535 legislators were women, and only 18 were women of color. As a result, laws that benefitted women faced heavy opposition before they could be passed. In addition, women made up the minority of Supreme Court justices and presidential cabinet members at every point in the 20th century, and of the 15 presidents...
Women of power are treated very poorly. These women of power include politicians, doctors, lawyers and businesswomen. Arguably, female politicians receive the worst treatment of all. Everything they do is constantly under media scrutiny, like what they wear and what they say, much more so than their male counterparts. The difference in the number of men and women congress members is vast, almost 5 to 1. Many women shy away from the political light for these reasons. An article, “Women in Politics”, written by Kenneth Jost, he explains the feats of women in the past 100 years:
Gender bias can be seen in many aspects, such as, education, employment opportunity, treatments in family. Based on the American Heritage Dictionary, 1983 bias is defined as "preference or inclination that inhibits impartiality; prejudice" while gender bias is defined as inclination towards or prejudice against one gender. Based on one of Canada statistics web, a sudden reversal has taken place on Canadian university campuses for over the last 30 years. According to the 1971 Census made in Canada, most of the university graduates were male but in the 2001 Census, universities had vividly become the domain of women, as 58% of graduates are women.1 Women nowadays are more aggressive to compete as the modern life has taught that education is the number one key to achieve something in life.
One particular thing that has interested me about the 2016 Presidential election gender bias. I became interested in this particular topic when it got brought up in class. I was interested because we were talking about how Trump gets away with more in terms of what he says and how he acts. If Clinton did any of things Trump has done, she would have been out of the presidential race along time ago. For example, if Clinton had suggested building a wall between the US and Mexico, people would have thought she was insane.
Electing more female officials into Congress and state legislature to fulfill the gender gap in the American legislation will give women more pathways to equal rights in laws and policies. Currently, women only represent twenty percent of the American national legislation, and even less in many state legislations. Furthermore, this underrepresentation in the American government leads to a gender gap and misrepresents America’s body of approximately fifty percent female population. The general belief that the overwhelming amount of men in American legislation office causes women not to participate in politics. However, according to the American University in D.C. their study showed the perceived gender gap in government prevents women for running for political office. Nevertheless, the study found that novice politicians are more likely to run for office if encouraged by a fellow incumbent politician to run for a competitive seat; thus, it only takes more encouragement to fulfill the gender gap in politics
A major way in which women have a lower status in society than men can be seen through women in politics. There are three major key areas of women in politics which focus of these points these consist of the attitudes towards women in politics, how women are represented thought the eyes of the law and through their occupational activity. It is not unknown that women are drastically misrepresented in Irish politics today. According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO, 2013) the amount of women TDs stand at 25 compared to 141 male TDs. That roughly estimates out that just 15 per cent of Dáil member are women. This major misrepresenta...
According to the report, women have been running for public offices in ever increasing numbers. Nevertheless, it can sometimes be a daunting task, as women can sometimes encounter violence or prejudice in the field of politics. However, it seems that women’s difficulty in participating in government and politics is an issue which is being tackled in many areas. It seems that it is (or has been) an international issue, which is consistent across many cultures. The types of obstacles women face may vary from are to are, but there usually exist a few obstacles. For example, the report cited an example concerning the 2007 Kenyan general elections where a record number of women sought parliamentary seats, however, there were also unprecedented levels of violence. Women across the world have been grossly underrepresented in government for ages. Of course, certain things are...