Women and Politics

This post was submitted by Jean Qiao, WCF Communications Fellow

In January, WCF President/CEO Sam Bennett was a guest on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews. Along with NOW President Terry O’Neill, Bennett discussed the sexism and double standards that greatly affected Martha Coakley’s race for Massachusetts Senate.

During the energetic banter, Bennett made it no secret to Matthews all the viewers that double standards still cripple the campaigns of female candidates. Bennett touched upon how the media scrutinized her serious demeanor, being called “ice queen” as well as the media’s response to her opponent’s Cosmopolitan centerfold:

“Bennett: Her opponent, nude male centerfold gets a total pass, and here’s Martha Coakley called an ice queen, if she was a guy, Chris, she would have been called dignified.

Matthews: And if she had done the centerfold?

Bennett: She wouldn’t even have been in the race. It wouldn’t even happen. It would have been a deal-killer for her. It’s about a double standard, it happens all the time.”

Watch Bennett’s engaging conversation with Matthews on WCF’s YouTube channel.

This post was submitted by Jean Qiao, WCF Communications Fellow

What will it take for our country to realize that the lack of diversity in our government is severely impeding our progress? And how do we inspire more women to run for office to fix this problem? Research? Statistics? A heartfelt plea?

Well, I’ve got all three for you. Swanee Hunt, Former Ambassador to Austria and Founding Director of Women and Public Policy Program; and Kerry Healey, former Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts and co-chair of the Political Parity Project, have something to say: Women, start your campaigns.

Hunt and Healey, both seasoned political figures, use the concept of critical mass to support the need for more women: When at least 30% of any group is made up of women, the dynamics and workings of the organization changes, in many cases, for the better.

“Women collectively bring a broader perspective to the political debate, based on their different social roles and life experiences. That breadth is crucial in order to solve the many challenges society faces, including the current economic crisis, national security issues, and health care reform.”

With recent narrow defeat of the Stupak-Pitts amendment and Martha Coakley’s loss in the Massachusetts special election, there is no better time than now for women to become involved in politics. President Obama is determined to pass his health care bill this year. But with women having much less than a critical mass—17%—in Congress, we could very well end up with legislation that puts women’s reproductive rights in jeopardy.

So why aren’t women scrambling to fix this inequity? The problem seems to be twofold: Women don’t realize how much their voices are needed for the strength of our government, and they are much more hesitant to run for office than men.

“Women candidates are also often less confident of their own qualifications to serve, and do not want to run until they have achieved higher credentials than a typical male candidate.”

Studies show that a woman must be asked six times before seriously considering a run for office. And oftentimes after making that decision, women face double standards and harsher scrutiny.

Hunt and Healey call upon women to shed their fears and run for elected office. At a time in which the voices of women are needed more than ever in the political arena, women must be asked and encouraged to run.

“Women in the arena don’t need a brief, polite round of applause for their efforts; it’s not enough when they often have had to work twice as hard just to get into the fight. They need to be recruited, supported, and coached. Our political parties need to encourage women to run, donors need to open their wallets, and the media needs to stop with the random critiques of female candidates’ clothes or hair or belabored debates about whether a tear is from empathy, grief, or exhaustion.”

In order to protect our reproductive health choices and ensure that future legislation fully defends and expands women’s rights, we must not be afraid to take action and run for office.

Remember, when women run for office, they raise as much money as men and win just as often. But, as Martha Coakley reminded us, you can’t win if you don’t run.

A woman can either be a prude or promiscuous. Too pretty or too masculine. A shrew or a doormat. As women try to tip-toe somewhere in the middle, we find that one small move can send us plunging straight into one of the extremes.

And of course, politics is not free of these dichotomies: Sarah Palin is hot. Hillary is mean. Martha Coakley is a Jezebel.

But lately I’ve noticed a new double standard arising: Women candidates either have too much money or not enough.

Let’s look at two different races: Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner running for U.S. Congress and Linda McMahon running for Senate in Connecticut.

From the beginning, Jennifer Brunner has been told she shouldn’t run for Senate because she’s such a good Secretary of State. They need her there. This is one of the most classically lame “reasons” given to women as to why they shouldn’t run for higher office.

On top of that, she’s now being assaulted by her own party about her fundraising. Bob Menendez of the DSCC is threatening not to support her until she raises more money—despite the fact that many are saying she’s the only hope for a Democratic win (Lee Fisher reportedly lost his last two campaigns, despite outraising his opponent).

Unfortunately, we all know that fundraising is a necessary component of political campaigns. (That’s a whole different rant for a different day). However, I have to ask—would Menendez be pulling support from the more viable male candidate who wasn’t raising as much as his less-viable opponent?

Now let’s look at Linda McMahon. The former chief executive of WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), she apparently has too much money. Though hundreds of male candidates have self-funded their way to elected office, McMahon is being accused of trying to buy the seat.

Again, all personal feelings about campaign financing aside, I have to say that it’s nice to finally see a successful woman using her wealth to run for office. Men have been doing it for decades, so for better or for worse, seeing a woman have that same ability gives me some sense of satisfaction.

But I do wonder what kind of double standard women in politics will face next. I’m sure 2010 will unfold some new gems for us, as well as reignite some old classics.