How Do "They" See "Us"?
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Judging Women In Politics
Women Are Issue Driven
Stereotypes And Expectations
The Executive Paradox
The Outsider-Insider Paradox
The Take Charge And Collaborate Paradox
Soft Issues Vs Money And War
Marriage, Families, And Leadership
Political Parties And Women
When Women Vote
JUDGING WOMEN IN POLITICS
WomenMatter
believes that when, as women, we inform ourselves about the impact
of government on any of our Life Issues,
we will find a way to strengthen our commitment to them by participating
in some way in the political process. Most of us will not run for
office, but research tells us that we can make a sizeable difference
if we pay attention to some political facts of life.
- Is it true that women
in government legislate and manage differently from men?
- Is it true that there
is a women’s vote?
- Is it true that voters
judge the record and the behavior of female candidates differently
from male candidates?
- Is there a difference
in the way political parties perceive women candidates?
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WOMEN ARE ISSUE DRIVEN
WomenMatter is nonpartisan as well as non-profit.
This website draws on research on women in both major parties and
election analysis on all parties.
That research tells us that women on every side of
every aisle care about the same things, carry the same responsibilities
in the family and the community, and when they get into public office
they most often continue to support women’s priorities. This
has been particularly true in gaining government support for research
on women’s health and for funding for education. Women office
holders, however, differ in their views on what action should be taken
by government. They often follow their party leadership, even on matters
of women’s health, aid to schools, the environment, and our
other Life Issues.
It, therefore, follows that a woman voter ought to
support women candidates when they agree with her on particular issues.
It also follows even when women run against each other for political
office, either in a primary or in a general election. Each woman voter
should pay close attention to where those candidates stand on the
particular Life Issues she cares most about.
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STEREOTYPES AND EXPECTATIONS
WomenMatter is here so we can educate ourselves on
the role of government in our lives, towards the goals of being better
able to form our own opinions and take an active part in the political
process.
Women politicians are in many ways a larger example
of all of us. We need to be acutely aware of how women are seen politically
and what is expected of them. It is not so different from how women
are seen and what is expected of us in our daily lives.
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THE EXECUTIVE PARADOX
Remarkable bipartisan research on behalf of The Barbara
Lee Family Foundation has detailed precisely where we are in accepting
women as political leaders.* To be accepted as leaders, women need
to be seen as executives. The paradox is that women have to showcase
themselves as outspoken activists with good ideas before they actually
have leadership jobs. When women showcase themselves they are often
criticized for being pushy, unfeminine, and not taking their turn.
“Voters are skeptical of women in elected executive
roles for the same reasons that they are skeptical of women in chief
executive roles in business: Are they really up to it? Do they really
have the skills? Can they make the tough decisions? Do they have enough
experience?”* The advice to women is stand up, speak out, don’t
be afraid to be openly ambitious, take on jobs that attract the spotlight,
particularly jobs that showcase the ability to handle finances.
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THE OUTSIDER-INSIDER PARADOX
To be chosen by a political party for candidacy, women
have to be part of the system. Most people who choose politics as
a career path have thought about it in high school and college. They
know there is a ladder and they are willing to start at the bottom
of it. There are those who come from famous name political families.
They have an advantage of connections as well as name recognition.
But the rest of us just have to believe in ourselves and begin.
Party affiliations are important to voters. “Voters
think of a Republican woman as Republican first, woman second. Democratic
women are more often seen as a woman first, then as a Democrat.”
Because voters trust Republican candidates, regardless of gender,
to keep taxes down and handle a budget deficit, Democratic women have
to showcase their ability to raise money and deal with finances.
Many candidates run for office as outsiders. Against
the system. There are not many professions that can advertise, “You’ll
love my services. I’m an amateur.” In one way it is to
a woman’s advantage that she is less likely to be seen as an
insider for those that think the political system is corrupt. On the
other hand, she then increases the chance that people will see her
as inexperienced or that the party leadership will not support her.
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THE TAKE CHARGE AND
COLLABORATE PARADOX
Women candidates need to speak out, speak up, run
things well and on time, while simultaneously taking advantage of
our female experience in collaborating, bringing people together,
and finding common ground.
How to be tough without being accused of acting like
the boys? The stereotypes about male and female behavior can drive
us all crazy. It starts in the cradle and never seems to let up.
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SOFT ISSUES VS MONEY AND WAR
“Compassion” seems to be a quality that
voters like. And they tend to think of women candidates as more compassionate
than men. This helps on issues like health and education. It doesn’t
help on issues like war and money.
Women candidates need to show themselves as tough-minded
but caring in all their public appearances.
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MARRIAGE, FAMILIES, AND LEADERSHIP
Voters like their candidates and leaders to be “like
us.” Some don’t care, but those who do prefer married
candidates to single ones. It is no surprise to any woman to know
that voters “worried that a woman candidate with small children
could be hindered by torn loyalties, particularly in the case of a
family emergency. Voters assume a male candidate has someone else
to care for his family… Women candidates should be open about
child care arrangements and time set aside for family.”*
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POLITICAL PARTIES AND WOMEN
From the 1998 exit polls, we learned that “Republicans
and Republican-leaning voters tend to vote along party lines, rather
than gender lines, while Democrats and Democrat-leaning voters are
more likely to factor in gender.”* When Republican women run
for office, people are fairly certain that they will follow the party
leadership.
“While more educated voters of both parties
show stronger support for Democratic women candidates, these candidates
have trouble winning support among some key Democratic constituencies
such as blue-collar men and senior Democratic men.”*
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WHEN WOMEN VOTE
People do get used to women in office – after
a while. “Underneath the data, it appears that having a woman
governor can exacerbate gender biases – women voters are more
pro-woman, while men voters become more stridently pro-man. In states
governed by a woman in 1998, women preferred a female candidate for
governor by 18 percentage points, however men preferred a male governor
by a 15 point margin.”*
“Across the board, men prefer a male candidate
to a female candidate, while women are ambivalent about their gender
preference in candidates… While seniors are among the most likely
to vote and among the least likely to vote for a woman, boosting turnout
among women-friendly voters – specifically younger women –
is critical. High turnout among younger women can offset the biases
of older voters and help women candidates.”*
WomenMatter stands for equality for women. To bring
it about, we need to run women for office and turn out to support
those with time and money who, in each voter’s educated opinion,
can do the most to strengthen our Life Issues.
To help more women win, it is essential to continue
to persuade older voters, but the key to more consistent success lies
in interesting younger women and getting them to the polls.
*Research commissioned and published
as Keys to the Governor’s Office,The Barbara Lee Family
Foundation, March 2001
Other non-partisan sources for research
on Women and Politics:
- Center for American Women and Politics,
Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University
- The White House Project
- Annenberg Public Policy Center,
University of Pennsylvania
- University of Wisconsin, Political
Science Department
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