Editor’s note: This commentary is by Ruth Hardy, who is executive director of Emerge Vermont, the state affiliate of a national organization that recruits, trains and inspires Democratic women to run for public office. She lives in East Middlebury.
[T]he news that Vermont would be the last in the nation to send a woman to represent the state in the U.S. Congress has sparked discussion about the reasons for and significance of this historical ranking, and even whether gender is still a factor in electoral politics.
However, there is no question that gender remains a significant factor in electoral politics. The argument that we have reached gender parity (equality) is not supported by either the data or the experiences of women in politics.
Nationwide, men outnumber women three to one in elected office. Of the more than 525,000 elected officials in the United States, fewer than 25 percent are women. For anyone interested in the numbers, check out the national data collected by the Center for American Women and Politics.
From a mathematical perspective, women have barely come halfway to parity with men in elected office, and women of color have come only about a third of the way to parity. Any argument that women have reached parity in elected office gets the math wrong, or simply ignores it.
The Vermont Legislature is closer to parity than most, at 40 percent female legislators, including women serving as speaker, majority leaders, and many committee chairs. But only two Vermont legislators are women of color, we’ve yet to send a woman to Congress, have elected only one female governor, have only one woman in statewide office, and only one female mayor.
Thus overall, Vermont ranks 34th among the 50 states for gender parity in elected office.
Further, the experiences of women who run and serve in office do not support the notion that we have achieved gender parity. Women on the campaign trail report that they can be subjected to inappropriate inquiries about their sexuality, children and family; blatant sexual harassment; or are simply dismissed.
Women candidates are often held to a “likeability” double-standard by which they must prove they are qualified and likeable. Voters will vote for a man they don’t like, but not a woman. And when women do get into office, even at the highest levels of power, they are far more likely than men to be interrupted when talking, meaning that their voices are literally less likely to be heard.
Women in and outside of politics face all-too-common episodes of sexual harassment, as highlighted by the #MeToo movement. Women face a self-confidence and political ambition gap, making them less likely to run. Women are less likely to be asked to run, and face financial, personal, professional, and structural barriers that block their path to elected office.
Indeed, a structural barrier is at the heart of what’s preventing Vermont women from running for and potentially winning a seat in the U.S. Congress – incumbency. Every election cycle about 86 percent of seats in Congress are already accounted for by incumbents because they run for re-election at high rates and almost always win. Since most current members of Congress are white men, so are most victors.
It’s a self-fulfilling system that keeps older white men in power. And no state demonstrates this better than Vermont.
The historical milestone of being last to send a woman to Congress is significant, especially for a state that likes to claim firsts in the expansion of human rights and progressive ideals. The fact that we were last to this equality goal post should invite us all to examine our systems, actions, and motives.
Men in power should ask if they could do a better job at making room at the table for new faces, voices and ideas, even if making room means giving up their own seat. How can men better use their power to empower others who are not like them?
Women waiting in the wings should ask themselves if they should instead take the risk of running for higher office. Nationally, women are running in record numbers, and when women run for office, they win at the same rate as men.
Representation matters because women govern differently. Women bring different perspectives, priorities, and styles to the political debate. On average, women in office are less partisan, more productive and results-oriented, and more likely to listen to and consider multiple perspectives about issues. Women in Congress often work together, across party lines, to address issues of particular concern for women.
And while yes, of course, there are men who are champions of “women’s issues” and women who are not, this does not negate the reality that having women at the table changes the conversation because they draw on their actual experiences as women when considering policy, regardless of political party.
Political parity, like all measures of social equality, is not about one person, but rather the collective whole. There will always be examples that break the mold or stand out as unique. Focusing on exceptions to the rule is an ineffective measure of progress.
While gender parity in politics is, in part, a mathematical exercise, real equality in politics creates good government. We cannot solve the difficult problems facing our democracy without drawing on the full potential of would-be elected officials. Our democracy is strongest when it is supported by smart, diverse elected officials who can work together to solve complex problems.
As Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley, the keynote speaker at the Emerge Vermont Annual Celebration of Women in Politics, said in her address:
“Government is stronger and more effective when it reflects and represents the citizenry it serves. That is not for some contrived moment of kumbaya, so we can pat ourselves on the back about how progressive we are. It is about a diversity of perspective, opinion, and thought. It is about cognitive diversity. It matters. That’s not just benevolence, that’s not just fairness, that’s not just justice. That’s smart governance.”
