HAIR, HEMLINES and Husband. According to Marie Wilson of the White House Project, women are judged by these three qualities before they even open their mouths. On Monday night, the Center for Politics kicked off its 2006 National Symposium on Women in Politics with Wilson, a Republican; Republican political strategist Bob Carpenter; and Dee Dee Myers, Bill Clinton's former press secretary and also the first female press secretary in American history.
Regardless of political persuasion, all speakers were optimistic about the future for women in politics. However, they also underscored the fact that although women do enjoy the same rights as men and can run for any office, many fundamental problems exist in American society that handicap a woman once she begins to assert herself and chase after executive offices, whether in a business boardroom or in the Oval Office.
Only 80 of the 535 members of the United States Congress are women. The ratio of women to men in Congress ranks 61st in the world. For a nation that purports to be the standard bearer of equality and strength through diversity, this is embarrassing. The American republican form of government should be a system in which the elected officials fully represent the American people as a whole. While congressmen may fight for women's rights, more actual congresswomen would bring passion to the fight and a conviction to see goals realized.
What about Condi and Hillary, you may ask. Yes, a secretary of state and U.S. Senator mark great achievements in the fight for gender equality. But having so few women in high office means all American women must feel represented by these few.
Men have the choice among hundreds of congressmen to find the one with whom they identify the most. As the women on the panel contended, any woman in office must be perfect, because she has to represent a constituency larger than all of the other congressmen. She must represent not just a district in Virginia or the state of Kentucky, but American women in general. If women are ever going to gain a substantial foothold in politics, Americans must allow them to be imperfect and human, just as they allow powerful men to be.
Men may not be the ones thwarting a woman's political aspirations. According to Bob Carpenter's polling data, women are the worst critics of women in office. As mentioned earlier, a woman in office has to be everything to all people. A woman must be pretty and well kept, but not so pretty that it looks like she spends hours in front of the mirror. A woman has to dress well, while people have no idea what designers elected men wear.
Dee Dee Myers claimed that she had never appeared on television without being asked what she had done to her hair or what designer she was wearing. On a more serious note, a woman running for office has to appear compassionate and warm, especially if she has children. However, she must be strong on national defense and willing to go to war if need be. This is the greatest obstacle facing a woman with her eye on the presidency.
Many men -- and women -- are not sure a woman can be a strong commander-in-chief. No one will know until the American citizenry elects qualified women and gives them the chance to prove themselves. Nevertheless, a female president, with more tactful diplomacy, could reform and revive American relations with countries around the world that the current administration obviously cannot work well with. As Wilson said, no matter what other qualities the first woman president will have, she must be "tough as nails." Indeed, if the Republicans could make a decorated war veteran like John Kerry into a coward and weak on defense, a woman has her work cut out for her.
The 15 percent female representation in Congress cannot give an adequate voice to over half the nation. Just as a token black student bused in from another county in the 1960's could not improve race relations singlehandedly, token women in the government cannot rectify gender equality in the most esteemed offices our nation offers. Until men, too, feel represented by powerful women, the nation cannot point to the Condi's and the Hillary's and pretend no problem exists. If our country want to fulfill its democratic ideology, more women in high political office is imperative.
Marta Cook is a Cavalier Daily Viewpoint writer.
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