Electoral politics will remain a bastion of patriarchy unless more women enter politics, Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Policy Jennifer Lawless told an audience of about 25 in Smith-Buonanno 106 Thursday.
Lawless, a congressional candidate in Rhode Island's 2nd District, has spoken to about 4,000 politically qualified men and women over the past several years to investigate why women are less likely than men to enter politics. Presenting her findings to the predominantly female crowd, Lawless identified three primary reasons why women exhibit reluctance toward political careers.
First, traditional gender and family roles hold many women back, she said, adding that women are held more accountable than men for the actions of their spouses and children.
"Questions about women's suitability as a wife and mother have historically dogged most women who try to enter politics," Lawless said. "Women who enter the political arena oftentimes face a double bind that men don't. They have to be accomplished both in their professions and as mothers, wives and caretakers of the home. As questions arise about a woman's effectiveness as a mother or wife, then those questions also arise in terms of whether or not she's qualified to run."
Lawless said about 65 percent of the women she spoke to said children made running for office "a more difficult endeavor," while only three men raised the same issue.
"Many qualified, credentialed, politically interested women decide that entering the electoral arena would be a third job, which is pretty unappealing, considering they already have two," Lawless said.
Lawless also cited perceptions of what it means to be a qualified candidate as a reason why few women enter politics. She said 60 percent of the men with whom she spoke considered themselves qualified, but fewer than 40 percent of the women made a similar claim.
In addition, 90 percent of the women she surveyed perceived gender bias in the electoral arena, Lawless said. This apparent sexism heightens women's inclinations to doubt their political abilities, she added.
"In some cases women think that entering politics means that because they're not conforming to traditional gender roles, they would have to be twice as good to get half as far," she said.
When women who consider themselves capable of running for public office state their qualifications, Lawless said they are more likely than men to give specific credentials. She said women she spoke to "offered abridged versions of their resumes" and emphasized the importance of personal and professional experiences. Men, on the other hand, cited traits such as passion, leadership and vision as what qualified them to run for office.
Patterns in political recruitment reveal the third source of the gender gap in political ambition, Lawless said. She said well-qualified men are more likely to receive entreaties to run for public office than equally qualified women. Of the people she surveyed, Lawless said women were a third less likely than men to have been recruited to run for office.
"Politically active women who occupy the same spheres as politically active men are not seen as equally capable and desirable as candidates," she said.
But Lawless also said women are just as likely as men to respond favorably to recruitment messages.
"If you ask a woman to run, it provides the same kind of impetus as if you ask a man to run," Lawless said. "And in fact, women who have not been recruited state that recruitment would serve as a catalyst and would make them consider running."
Lawless said the stakes are too high not to fight for full inclusion of women in politics. She said issues such as gender equity, day care, abortion rights, minimum wage increases and food stamps will receive attention only if there are women in positions of political power advocating for them.
Without proactive behavior, Lawless said, the status of women in politics will see only glacial change.
"We have to think creatively about how to integrate family into politics, and we need to be cognizant of this double bind that exists," Lawless said. "We have to identify and condemn any kind of sexist behavior that leads women to think they need to be twice as qualified to get half as far. But perhaps most realistically, easily and concretely, we just need to recruit more women to run for office."
Lawless said she sees gender differences in terms of confidence and political interest in her own classroom. In order to combat this, Lawless said, girls and women in high school and college need to be encouraged to pursue politics as a career.
"We need to ensure that running for office begins to appear on every woman's radar screen," she said. "As long as women are not as willing as men to enter the electoral arena, the large disparities in office-holding will continue. ... And in addition, the degree of comfort that women articulate regarding their entry into the political arena has to serve as a barometer for how far we've come as a society."
Lawless spoke as part of the National Young Women's Day of Action, organized by Students for Choice and the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance. She refused to answer questions from Herald reporters about contributions to her campaign, saying her appearance was as a political scientist, not a candidate.
