By Prof. Gail E. Garbrandt
Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics
University of Akron
When we look at the number of women who have been elected and appointed to offices, boards and commissions it is plain to see that Ohio has a shameful record! We rank 37th out of 50 states in the number of women appointed and elected to public office. It is not that women are better than men—it is simply that we hear with a different ear and we have different issue priorities. It is important to have diversity at the policy making table. The more diverse the participants the more realistic the solutions we generate to our challenges.
I am always amazed when I ask women why they don't run and they say I am not qualified or they feel in some way insignificant. So here are some interesting statistics for you to ponder…….
Did you know… that there are five million more women in this country than men?
Did you know…Women account for 81% of all goods and services purchased in the United States?
Did you know…There are 10.1 million women in small business in America?
Did you know…Women manage 83 percent of household income and will inherit 85% of the nation's wealth because we live on average seven years longer than men?
We are the economic powerhouse of the 21st century! Yet in the United States Congress—there are only 14/100 women in the United States Senate and 59/435 women in the U.S. House. 8/50 Governors. So how can they effectively represent the 146 million women in this country? (these statistics are not current, but remain relative)
There remain some significant challenges facing women who want to be elected to office.
VIABILITY
As I travel across the country as a national campaign trainer for women I often stress the importance of image in reaching one's objectives.
When I walked into this room today within 7 seconds you formed a first impression of me and within two minutes you had decided whether you like me or not! Now, the amazing part of this process is that 55% of your opinion was just based on image and body language. 38% came from the tone of my voice; and only 7% was based on content or whether you liked what I had to say!
While we, as a gender, have made tremendous strides over the past generation, women remain challenged. When limited information is available about female candidates for public office, the average voter will fall back on stereotypes which typically do not help women. We all do it and we need to think twice before we continue this negative practice. Kim Fridkin Kahn has written a great book called The Political Consequences of Being a Woman. Her research shows that stereotypes negatively impact female candidates except when salient issues in a campaign coincide with the stereotypical strengths of women. For example, if the number one issue in a campaign is healthcare, and there is a female candidate for Governor the female candidate may have an upper hand. Kahn's research also shows that the media have treated female candidates differently than male candidates. When reporters accept press releases from the campaigns of female candidates they are more likely to edit those releases than the releases of male candidates. We often read at a candidates announcement event headlines such as “Former cheerleader runs for U.S. Senate.” Do you recall when Geraldine Ferraro ran for VP? Her choice of attire was the topic of discussion more so than her issues.
FUNDRAISING
It has been difficult for women to raise money for campaigns. When Elizabeth Dole was a candidate for President in 2000 she could not keep pace with the Bush fundraising machine and had to drop out of the race. There have been a few exceptions, certainly Hillary Clinton who raised $31.6 million dollars for her U.S. Senate Election and Debbie Stabenow from Michigan who also had a successful run for the U.S. Senate was able to raise $8.7 million. Women need to do a better job of writing checks to the candidates who they believe in.
There are several groups that exist to help women candidates: EMILY'S List who donates money to pro-choice democratic women; WISH who donates money to Republican Women and in Ohio, HOPE CHEST who donates money to women in Ohio who are running for Supreme Court, Governor, and other statewide offices. So why do they need so much money? The cost of campaigns continues to escalate. They are highly professional organizations with professional staff who often have degrees in campaign management. Political consultants today are highly specialized from Image consultants, to speech writers to pollsters and others. These people are well trained, experienced, and command top dollars!
Lack of Executive Experience
Women are often criticized for lacking executive experience. As I stated earlier we currently have only have 9 female governors from the 50 states. The office of Governor is an excellent stepping stone to political office for women. In the history of the United States we have seen 27 women governors.
Seventeen Governors have gone on to be elected President of the United States beginning with Thomas Jefferson through our present President, George W. Bush former Governor of Texas.
As women break through the glass ceiling in corporate America they continue to gain the executive experience they need to effectively serve as the President of the United States and Leader of the free world.
I do want to stress that there are exceptions—a few women who have been able to overcome these obstacles but many who have done so have had a husband or father who was involved in politics at the highest levels.
There remains much work to be done if women are to achieve the levels of success for which they are qualified. It's shameful if we allow the opportunities we have available to us as citizens to pass up by because we are women.
Professor Gail E. Garbrandt
Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics
University of Akron
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