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Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Why are there so few female leaders in the U.S. in comparison to other countries?
Although the U.S. is admired for its enduring constitution and individual freedoms, we lag behind many other countries in terms of the number of female political leaders and heads of state. This seems counter-intuitive but is true none-the-less. What is it about American culture that contributes to there being so few women political leaders? Does the fact that women earn significantly less money on the whole when compared to men have any bearing on the dearth of female politicians?
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4 comments:
I, too, had this same thought when I was reading "Closing the Leadership Gap," especially because the book discusses how the U.S. has many, solid female leadership organizations and well-known female activists - probably more than other nations have - which I assume would help create awareness and change in this matter. What makes other countries "better equipped" to elect female politicians? (The Iceland example was particularly interesting - would that method succeed in the U.S.?). Clearly it's not based on a democratic, constitutional framework, or else the U.S. would be leaps and bounds ahead of the rest.
I don't know, the 2008 elections don't look like a good harbinger considering how badly both the liberal and conservative female contenders were treated, compared to their male counterparts, I don't think anyone will disagree with that. This makes me think it has a lot to do with the media and how perhaps female candidates are treated there.
Looking at other countries and cultures, two with the most connections to our own, Great Britain and Israel haven't had a woman as Prime Minister since the only ones who served in those countries late last century. That I can't figure out why either as they both are considered to have done a good job.
The first think we have to admit is that we have a problem. That´s what Wilson called “the ´no problem´ problem” (pag. 18). I think before we answer the question of why are there so few female politicians? We could begin to understand that there is a problem. If we know we have a problem, then we can think about how we can change politics.
We need to face the truth and admit that there are some barriers that American women should try to pass. Marie Wilson said that women have to deal with barriers (cultural and emotional, societal and historical) and perceptions (what a leader looks like). Maybe the barriers and perceptions that the U.S. has are bigger than those they have in other countries? Or it could be that the other countries faced this fact a little bit earlier than the U. S.?
I think the fact the men make more money than women have some impact on the few women in leadership roles. In "Closing the Leadership Gap," author Marie C. Wilson points out that the word "leadership" conjures images for most of us. Often times, these images are not those of women. I state this with great dismay. One of the solutions that Wilson provides to conquer this problem is to "change the rules, inside and out, individually and collectively, rewriting the definition of leader and putting a woman's face on it." When observing the political landscape in today's society, it is evident that although some progress has been made, women still need a greater presence in the political arena. I am motivated by Wilson's words and the unique way she compares Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel titled The Scarlet Letter to the real scarlet A's that rest in our own lives. Examined as the following: authority, ambition, ability, and authenticity.
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