Making a Run For It

In 2017, one might assume that women and men are equally represented in government. From casual observation, women appear to be well-represented in a wide range of other professions. Why would the political realm be different, where the familiar faces of Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Condoleezza Rice, and others come readily to mind? Given the frequent media coverage surrounding prominent female politicians like these, underrepresentation of women in government would appear to be an issue of the past. In reality, these women and their female colleagues are not the rule, but rather the exception. Even 100 years after Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman to serve in Congress in 1917, women remain greatly outnumbered by men in the U.S. government. This is true not only inside our top representative bodies, the United States Senate and House of Representatives, but also in every other level of government, all the way down to local town councils. As of January 2016, The Center for American Women and Politics reported that women held just 23% of government offices. However, over the past year there has been a significant increase in women running for office; the 2016 presidential election has ignited a new wave of political activism, inspiring women across the nation to run for office.

Overall, women are currently underrepresented in American government by a large margin. Women only hold around 19.6% of seats in Congress, 24% of state executive offices (including the positions of Governor and Lieutenant Governor), and around 25% of state legislative offices. Although these statistics have shown a steady increase over the past decade, they nonetheless remain disproportionate to the general population, which is 50.9% female. Compared to countries worldwide, the United States ranks in the bottom half regarding women’s representation in elected office. Furthermore, while many countries have had female leaders, such as Angela Merkel in Germany and Margaret Thatcher in the United Kingdom, the U.S. has yet to be led by a woman.

The underrepresentation of women in our government is not the result of female candidates failing to win election when their names are on the ballot. Although women who do run are equally likely as men to be elected, very few women actually run for office in the first place. Young women are less likely than young men to consider politics as a career path, and less likely to think of themselves as qualified to run for office. While many factors influence the lack of women candidates, in general societal sentiment has discouraged them from running. Today, however, the tide is quickly turning; more women than ever across the country are considering running for political office. The catalyst for this surge of political ambition among American women? The 2016 presidential election.

After the election of President Donald Trump shocked and devastated women across the country, these same women became increasingly engaged in political activism. A great number of American women felt that President Trump embraced misogynistic rhetoric and policy. During the 2016 Presidential election, an Access Hollywood tape was released featuring Trump making vulgar comments about women. Women across the country expressed concern over the predatory nature of these comments and Trump’s objectification of women. In addition, Trump supported men accused of sexual harassment, disappointing many who hoped he would more strongly condemn violence against women. Despite allegations that Roy Moore assaulted several young girls, Trump publicly endorsed Moore’s campaign for Senate. Trump cited the need to keep a Republican seat in the Senate, overlooking the accusations against Moore.

The Trump administration also reversed previous policies protecting women’s rights, especially in healthcare. In October 2017, the Department of Health and Human Services rolled back previous rules which required employers to include birth control coverage in employee health insurance plans. While the administration defended the rollback as a protection of religious objections, millions of women are able to access birth control without out-of-pocket payments under contraceptive coverage mandates, meaning such a rollback would greatly limit women’s options in healthcare. A Gallup poll reported that Trump’s average approval rating for his first year in office was 33% among women, showing very low approval ratings among women with approval ratings among men 12 points higher.

These Trump administration decisions, along with numerous others, encouraged women to take action in order to advocate on their own behalf and to protect women’s rights nationwide. Movements such as the Women’s March encouraged women from all over the country to join in protest, while smartphone applications enabled users to easily call representatives to advocate for the issues which they were concerned about. The election inspired thousands to take matters into their own hands and to address issues within their community by taking action. For many women, this has meant running for political office.

She Should Run, a nonpartisan organization which recruits women candidates and trains them through the election process, reports that following the 2016 election over 15,000 women reached out to express interest in running for office. Another similar organization, EMILY’s List, which works to get pro-choice Democratic women elected, has been contacted by over 19,000 women.

The recent gubernatorial, mayoral, and state legislative elections on November 7, 2017 revealed that the rising interest of women in running for office is not only reflected in the work of activist organizations, but in actual candidates on ballots. In Virginia, a record number of women ran for seats in the Virginia House of Delegates, winning an all time high number of 28 seats and nearly doubling the number of women represented. Joyce Craig became Manchester, New Hampshire’s first female mayor. In New Jersey, Sheila Oliver became the state’s first African-American woman to serve as Lieutenant Governor. Across the country, elections reflected the growing number of women running for office. For many of them, the election of President Trump served as a motivation to take a stand and influence government policy on all levels.

Nearly one year after the 2016 presidential election, women across the nation are running for office in record numbers. While women’s representation in government is on the rise, the campaign for a truly equal presence has only just begun. The real test of an impactful change to the current American government will be whether the ambition, determination, and passion which has stemmed from the election continues to inspire women nationwide to take a hand-on approach to political activism. The presidential election may have marked a turning point; perhaps the outburst of resistance and activism since then has already shown women that anyone, no matter their background or experience, can become a leader and affect change within their community or even nation. And, while Hillary Clinton was not elected president, perhaps the response to the 2016 election has shown the United States that women are ready to eliminate the gender gap in politics. Progress in equal representation will be beneficial for us all; the world has shown that electing women to office is a win for all citizens, not just for those on the ballot.

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/25/upshot/the-problem-for-women-is-not-winning-its-deciding-to-run.html?_r=0

http://takeastance.us/

http://history.house.gov/People/Listing/R/RANKIN,-Jeannette-(R000055)/

http://time.com/4556917/presidential-election-2016-women-government/

http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/current-numbers

https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-03.pdf

https://www.american.edu/spa/wpi/upload/Girls-Just-Wanna-Not-Run_Policy-Report.pdf

https://www.axios.com/more-women-are-running-for-office-at-every-level-2506288821.html

http://archive.ipu.org/wmn-e/arc/classif010117.htm

http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/resources/press-release-post-election-2017.pdf

http://nhpr.org/post/joyce-craig-becomes-manchesters-first-elected-female-mayor#stream/0