from experts in the field:
IN THE PAST YEAR, there has been a virtual coup in the realm of global
women’s leadership. Chile elected its first female president, Michelle
Bachelet; Liberia swore in its first female president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf;
and Angela Merkel is head of state in Germany. These elections serve as a
wake-up call to the United States and may hold the most important
lessons for us about when and why a woman may be president here soon.
These women, with no political coattails on which to ride, have broken through the ultimate
glass ceiling and are deemed effective leaders by demonstrating toughness and competence without losing their appeal—the traditional barrier to women’s political leadership at the highest levels. Bachelet and Johnson-Sirleaf endured painful experiences, such as imprisonment and exile,
and transformed them into a passion to unify and bring their countries to a new era of peace
and prosperity. And Merkel, born behind the Iron Curtain in Communist East Germany, has
already surprised people with her toughness by saying that Germany will not be intimidated by
Iran’s refusal to disarm its nuclear program.
Marie Wilson is president and co-founder of The White House
Project ( www.thewhitehouseproject.org).
According to a Roper Public Affairs poll, nearly 80 percent of Americans are ready for a female
commander in chief. The poll also revealed that more than half thought a woman would do as well
as a man in foreign policy, homeland security and the economy. This last new mark of acceptance
probably owes a great deal to the visible female national security leaders of the Clinton and Bush
administrations, with both Condoleezza Rice and Madeleine Albright serving as secretaries of state.
Perhaps we have reached a turning point. First lady Laura Bush has called on Rice to run, and
there is a widespread expectation that Senator Hillary Clinton will as well. We may soon have an
opportunity to see what happens when two women—who have proved their ability and authority—compete for the presidency. Their simultaneous candidacies would begin to normalize
females in the race and would allow us to choose a leader based strictly on her ability, not gender.
Unfortunately, the closest we have come to seeing a female commander in chief is on TV. Yet
the possibility is far from fictional. If the elections of Bachelet, Johnson-Sirleaf and Merkel serve
as real examples, the international acceptance of women leaders winning national races is clearly
gaining momentum.
MARCH
DEBATE RESULTS:
Should the government help
people upgrade their TVs to
receive digital signals?
YES
22%
NO
78%
from experts in the field:
Taegan D. Goddard is the publisher of Political Wire
( www.politicalwire.com), one of the most widely read political blogs
on the Internet. He's also the author of You Won, Now What?
(Scribner, 1998), a political management book.
IF THERE’S ONE POLITICAL TREND that’s been fairly consistent across
the globe, it’s that women are winning public office at an unprecedented
rate. In Ireland, Latvia, New Zealand, Finland, the Philippines, Bangladesh
and Norway, voters elected women leaders. More recently, voters have
done the same in Germany, Liberia and Chile. As Newsweek’s Fareed Zakaria points out, this is
reflective of an ongoing trend: More than 30 women have been elected to lead their respective
countries since the 1990s, as opposed to just one in the 1950s.
Nonetheless, America still doesn’t seem ready. Lingering prejudices and gender stereotypes
are still too strong to overcome. Though several prominent women have made bids for the
White House—for example, Senator Margaret Chase Smith (R-Maine) in 1964, Representative
Shirley Chisholm (D-N. Y.) in 1972 and Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) in 2000—none have even come
close to winning their party’s nomination.
Looking ahead to 2008, a recent Marist College survey found that even though two-thirds
of Americans think Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N. Y.) will run, just one-third think she
can actually win. The leading Republican woman, Condoleeza Rice, fares even worse, with nearly
80 percent saying she can’t win.
Some could argue that Clinton and Rice are too polarizing, but that ignores even more troubling polling data. A recent WNBC-TV poll found that an astonishing 27 percent of Americans
wouldn’t vote for a woman for president under any circumstance. Of those opposed, almost
one-third said they wouldn’t back a female candidate because “women are not up to the job,”
while 10 percent said it was because the presidency is “a man’s job.”
A recent Siena College poll found similar results, with more than 20 percent saying a woman
would do a worse job than a man.
Those are stunning statistics. In a closely divided nation, no serious candidate for president
can afford to give up that much of the vote before a single ballot is cast.
Opinions expressed are those of the
individuals or organizations represented
and are presented to foster discussion.
Costco and The Costco Connection
take no position on any Debate topic.
