Barriers For Female Candidates

NewFounders
Jul 20, 2017 · 7 min read

By Nora Shepard

It’s been extensively reported on that historically high numbers of women are signing up to run for office since this past election. That’s great news! We encourage any female leader to step up and run for office. If not you, then who?

Beth Mason served as Councilwoman in New Jersey from 2007 until 2015.

That said, it’s a brutal road. Unfortunately, women and minorities in the political space face seemingly insurmountable challenges that their white male counterparts simply don’t have to think about. These obstacles come in both subtle and obvious forms.

Higher expectations

Pew Research compiled a study in 2015 and found that about 40% of Americans blame the double standard placed on women trying to climb the leadership ladder as a reason women are less likely to achieve powerful positions. It’s true, both statistically and anecdotally, that women have to prove themselves against a more rigorous set of standards. Liz Jaff, who ran to be DNC vice chair in 2017, felt this pressure. She said that people “have expectations of how you’re gonna look and how you’re gonna act, and I think I bought into those expectations. I wore heels the whole time, and I never wear heels.” Anna Valencia, city clerk of Chicago, echoes this. She says that when she’s preparing for an interview or speech, people tell her she has to smile more to make sure she’s approachable. “I don’t think you would tell men candidates these things. Women still have a lot of barriers to break in that category.”

It’s hard not to listen to what other people are telling you to do. This is especially true in politics, when you are theoretically trying to work for the people, by the people. You’ll want to modify your behavior to appease your constituents, donors, or volunteers. There is no right or wrong answer here. Just make sure you really know what your values are before entering the political space, and draw boundaries clearly and early.

Stereotypes

Gender stereotypes persist in the United States, without a doubt. Anyone can easily conjure up images on female stereotypes, right? It’s unfair, but it’s real and important to name. A study conducted by Aalberg and Jenssen indicated that people are inclined to believe male politicians are more knowledgeable and trustworthy, even if they give the exact same speech. Some other research, however, indicates that these stereotypes have to be “flipped” on. Meaning, the general public may not automatically think a female candidate is unqualified, but she will have to be that much more careful in her messaging to avoid association with negative female stereotypes.

A woman, especially one running for office, constantly has to navigate the many contradictions placed upon her. She can’t be seen as too submissive or too dominant, too nurturing or too cold. It’s a fine line to walk. Yet, through all of these challenges, women can and have perservered in order to earn a seat at the table.

Fundraising

Rutgers University conducted a 2015 report that found women are more likely to face initial competition and are more likely than their male colleagues to report fundraising as a significant hurdle. Women’s personal networks are less likely to include people who will give to their campaign, and political action committees (PACs) are less likely to give to a female candidate because historically, women are underrepresented so a PAC will question her electability. Republican women are even more disadvantaged than their Democratic female peers, since women’s donor networks and women’s PACs are more likely to give to Democratic women. Black candidates in particular are less likely to raise as much money and are forced to rely more heavily on smaller donations.

Liz Jaff echoes these findings in her personal experience, conceding that “asking for money was one of the scariest things I’ve done.” Josina Morita, who is on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), also understood this on a personal level, saying that when there are races where people have raise a ton of money, “there are other disadvantages women have for raising money…so people still think men are more qualified.” It’s frustrating that women are at such a disadvantage when it comes to the financial side of a campaign, and that people equate qualifications with how much money you can raise.

Recruitment

Earning support and sponsorship may prove itself to be extra challenging for women. Those invested in politics are going to want to put money into what’s worked in the past — which is, generally speaking, white men. It’ll be an uphill battle, but surround yourself with people who support you unconditionally, who inspire you, and who will speak on your behalf.

Racial tensions

When imagining a political leader, we typically picture a man — but even when we intentionally conjure up a female political leader, whiteness still rules the image. This whiteness expectation is backed in reality, unfortunately. In 2016, just 32.4% of the women serving in the U.S. Congress were women of color; women of color only made up 6.4% of the total members of Congress. 11.8% of women serving in statewide elective executive offices were women of color; just 2.9% of the total statewide elective executives were women of color. 22% of women serving in state legislators were women of color; just 5.4% of total state legislators were women of color. Clearly, we’ve got some work to do.

Left: Statewide legislators. Middle: Statewide elective executives. Right: U.S. Congress

Unfortunately, women of color will encounter even more hurdles than their white counterparts because they have to navigate race and gender stereotypes. Josina Morita has experienced this all too many times as a woman of color. She says about her time on the campaign trail, “I got a lot of racist comments, a mix of intentional and not intentional, you know, ching-chongs, and told about how good my English is, I had comments about my eyes, as you know, gross guys saying they’d never hooked up with an Asian girl before. The whole gamut of that…I had to kind of decide if when I was going to be more assertive, and if I was or wasn’t because of the racism and sexism I was dealing with on the campaign trail.” Women of color are more likely to experience extensive primary competition, and consequently are less likely to be recruited into office in the first place. It’s not fair, but it’s real.

When you do win your position, it’s up to you to stand up for the racist and sexist tendencies by offering women and minorities a hand. Anna Valencia understands this and has made it a point during her time in office to do so. She says, “if we’re gonna talk the talk, we have to walk the walk. When I started my process of hiring for my staff, I knew I wanted to have women in leadership positions. So out of my 7 leadership positions on my team, 4 are women. And the three men are men are color. So I think it’s important to have not only women, but diversifying your workforce, so you can talk to people who you represent.”

What about the good parts?

It’s tough out there on the campaign trail as a woman. But everyone who does it ultimately thinks it’s worth it. The major thing is to find yourself a solid network of friends who will be brutally honest with you, but support you through this time. Women are running in larger numbers recently because we’ve realized how critical it is to have our voices be heard. If not now, then when? If not you, then who? It’s up to you to create the change you want to see in the world. It’s up to you to make yourself heard in this world stacked against you.

SheShouldRun launched a campaign yesterday called #250Kby2030. There are over 500,000 elected offices in the United States. SheShouldRun hopes to get 250,000 women in office by 2030. It’s a lofty goal, but an important one. When you sign up, they help you through the campaign process, and you enter a community of other women going through the same process. If you don’t want to sign up, sign up a friend, or share about their initiative on social media. Sign up now.

Nora Shepard is the content manager at NewFounders (formerly RISE). NewFounders believes in unity through problem-solving, and is comprised of design, tech and innovative thinkers that believe in unity through problem solving. See more at www.newfounders.us.

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A coalition of leaders seeking to unite and move America forward. www.newfounders.us

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