AMERICANS think a woman president would be stronger on foreign policy than a man by a ratio of about two-to-one. A surprising fact, but according to a poll conducted by the Siena Research Institute released last month, Americans are favoring the prospects of a woman in the White House in unprecedented numbers.
More women hold elected offices in the U.S. than at any other time in history, and with recent shifts in public opinion favoring for a female candidate, a woman in the White House is a lot closer than many of us think. Given the substantial popular support, steps should be taken to encourage more women candidates to run for office at all levels of government.
Laura Liswood, co-founder of the White House Project, a nonpartisan, non-profit organization dedicated to getting more women into elected office, spoke on Grounds in a lecture last Friday co-sponsored by the University's Women's Center, the Department of Politics and the McIntire Women's Business Forum. Liswood shared her experiences interviewing 15 women presidents and prime ministers in the early 1990s while compiling the book "Women World Leaders." She applied her theories on women in global leadership positions to the likelihood of a woman gaining the White House in the near future.
Liswood highlighted the fact that women in the U.S., comprising 51 percent of the population, currently occupy less than 15 percent of all seats in U.S. government.
Liswood pointed to two primary obstacles to women seeking the White House: money and the "upgrade problem." Efforts should be made to fight these issues, because apart from the 15 percent being blatantly unrepresentative, it is a disservice to the interests of the majority of the population.
The cost of funding a campaign continues to hinder traditionally out-of-power groups in their efforts to seek representation. Through grassroots campaigning, the problem of cost can be mitigated. Encouraging women, especially through recruitment and training programs, to run for office at all levels of government will quicken the dismal rate at which we are electing female candidates.
Recent research indicates that significant progress is being made towards combating the "upgrade problem" of women not being elevated from serving in state and local politics to leaders on the national level. The Siena Research Institute conducted a poll from Feb. 10-16, 2005, interviewing 1,125 registered voters in fifty states and the District of Columbia, asking participants for their opinions on the likelihood of a woman taking the White House, particularly in reference to 2008.
According to the survey, 81 percent of Americans would vote for a woman. Nine percent answered "don't know." An unsettlingly regressive 10 percent claimed they would vote against any woman Presidential candidate, regardless of qualifications.
According to the poll, Americans believe a woman in the White House would outperform a man in both foreign and domestic policy. 67 percent of Americans believe that a woman would be "stronger" on domestic issues than a man. Even more interesting is that 24 percent cited a woman as "better" on foreign policy, with 52 percent holding the opinion that gender has no effect and just 11 percent saying a woman President would be "worse." A theoretical woman President surpassed a man in every area, except as commander-in-chief, which favored a man as performing the "better" job by a mere five percent.
The high percentage favoring a woman in foreign policy can be attributed to prominent and controversial female cabinet members. Liswood cited Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in addition to Madeline Albright, who, as secretary of state in the Clinton administration became the highest-ranking woman in the history of U.S. government, as indications of rising acceptance of women in executive positions.
Recent high-profile women working in foreign policy, such as Rice and Albright have, disparaged stereotypes of women as focusing solely on health care and education, enabling the public to envision a woman in the White House who is fully capable of executing all presidential tasks.
Politics Prof. Larry Sabato points to the increase of women in state legislatures and the number of women as governors as evidence of a woman president being "inevitable" in the near future, elaborating that he is "surprised it hasn't happened yet."
Given the increase in public support for a woman president and the substantial gains toward eroding the "upgrade problem" highlighted by Liswood, the chance of a woman in the White House is a lot closer than many of us think. With increased public acceptance of a woman president, now is an optimal time for more action to encourage women candidates.
Sophia Brumby is a Cavalier Daily viewpoint writer.
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