Glass Ceiling In The Poltical Sphere
Women account for 50. 8% of the United States population, but make up a meer 24. 5% of the state legislators, 19. 4% of congress, and 12% of the governors. Their unequal representation has been quite prominent throughout history and it becomes even more marginalized with the presence of other minority status’ such as race, sexuality, and religion. The overwhelming lack of women in public office, though such a large portion of our country’s population, raises questions of equality and justice. Although the United States has reached great heights of equal opportunity, why is the fraction of public office held by women so unproportionally small?
Though some argue that the underrepresentation of women is due to a lack of ambition, it decidedly is due to an institutionalized glass ceiling. The glass ceiling is the barrier that women and other minorities face when advancing in a profession, and it is very much alive in the political sphere. The media’s influence of perpetuating stereotypes upon women, the history of powerful positions of power being masculine, and Media has become an important tool during election time. Articles, commercials, and debates are constantly blasted to the public, and with the recent increase in the use of social media, candidates can take to these platforms to state their opinions on issues as well.
As Hillary Clinton ran for office in 2016, she was the target of many anti-democrat advertisements. But her experience was not the same as other democrats running, such as Bernie Sanders. A large portion of her attacks were not based on her views or opinions on certain issues, or even the extremity of her views. Much of the animosity towards Hillary Clinton goes back to when she was first lady to President Bill Clinton. Her choice to work rather than perform the typical mother stereotype, upset many constituents. She was not the first lady that many were accustomed to. She herself was involved with politics, such as when she became an United States senator in 2001. During the scandals that accompanied Clinton’s 2016 campaign, much of the backlash was shadowed by the concept of a female running against a male.
A large section of the prospective voters who swayed from Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton were non-college educated white women. These constituents did not look at Clinton’s stances on issues the same way as they would with any male candidate. Women look at what they would do if they were in her position and criticize her execution. Women running for office are often critiqued more intensely than men, and denounced for miniscule scandals, when compared to a candidate who is a man. The idea of the media portraying women candidates a certain way could play into the lack of ambition of women to run, but the primary concern stems from the way women candidates have been treated in the past.
As long as misogyny is alive in the United States, women will not be treated fairly in any job field, prohibiting them from advancing to positions such as president, or state legislators, or congress women, allowing for a glass ceiling effect.
