So here is the good news, when women do run, they win. But with these things in mind. We've seen it all, and we know what works. Check it out and leave your comments.
Women in Office Today:
Is there a difference between the
way a woman runs and the way a man runs for public office?
The answer is yes, no and it
depends.
This is an evolving issue. After the Year of the Woman, 1992, when record
numbers of women were elected to Congress, there has been steady progress in
the numbers of women elected to local, State and Federal offices.
But we are still not at parity.
In 1971 women constituted 4.5
percent of state legislators. Today (as of March 2013), they are 24.1 percent
nationwide. Of the 100 largest American cites, just 12 have women mayors.
Remember, women make up 51% of
the total population of this country.
Special Pitfalls for the Woman Candidate?
The rise of women was more dramatic
in the early years (post 1992) and has tapered off. Is this because women are
no longer seen as a novelty? Or because they are not running in as great a
number as their male counterparts?
Probably both. What the literature on the subject shows is
that there are very few differences in the way women run for office than the
way men do. It may have been that at one
time women tended to run more positive campaigns, be seen as more compassionate
and interested in “women’s issues” (childcare, health care, gun control and
health care access) But these are issues
that break down more along Party lines and geographic differences than gender.
However, that does not mean there
are not special pitfalls for the female politician. There’s an old adage about the heyday of the
big budget musical: don't forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did,
backwards... and in high heels."
Women running today might heed
that admonition. A woman still has to
work a little bit harder for those votes. The stereotypes, although not so
obvious, are still in play.
Here are some tips for the female
candidate from the seemingly trivial to the seriously trenchant.
Ten Tips for the Female Candidate:
- Grooming.
OK, let’s get it out of the way. All candidates need to pay
attention to their personal image.
Men with frayed shirts and food on their tie are no more appealing
than women whose lipstick is smeared or hose is unraveling.
Women still
get judged more harshly on their appearance than do men. A real headline in the New York Sun read: Stylists Interpret Messages of Senator
Clinton's Accoutrements in the most recent
Presidential primary. (Jan 25, 2007 New York Sun)
With that said,
here are a very few grooming I’ve amassed “on the trail” that can help you make a good first impression on
voters, the press and your potential donors:
Keep your hair fairly short or if you really can’t live without it above
the shoulder, pin it up for formal portraits or campaign events. Pant suits are fine (ala Hillary) and calf
length skirts work well. Skip the stilettos, and if you tend to be generously
endowed, dress to minimize the cleavage. You
want the voters and the pundits to remember the words that come out of your
mouth not what spills out of your blouse. As for make up, subtle is fine.
- The other extreme. Because women often feel
they must be tough to make it through a campaign and be taken seriously,
they sometimes go to the other extreme.
Severe haircuts, button shirts and rigid posture. They won’t crack a smile for fear of
seeming frivolous or seeming to trivialize important issues. Men can come off as arrogant or posturing
and people tend to forgive them as long as they like their message, but
women do have to walk a finer line.
So, be yourself,
maintain your sense of humor and humanity while showing your firm grasp of the
issues and willingness to tackle problems with both hands
3. Issues. Don’t go out of your way to look for “women’s
issues,” but don’t shy away from them either.
You may find that your primary issue, while
important, is not the main one your constituents are talking about. Don’t be
afraid to switch gears when need be. In a recent local representative seat race,
the female candidate, a nurse practitioner, was focused like a laser on single
payer health care; that was her passion and that got her into the race. But the
main issue turned out to be protecting a large tract of open space land and
wetlands. Her slogan “for our health, community and quality of life,” fit this
new issue perfectly and allowed her to run with it while keeping access to
health care on her list of top bullet points leading to a win and a second term
without challengers.
4. Going negative. It’s still true that women
are more reluctant than men to “go negative,” that is until their opponent does
it first. A popular city council
candidate feared being perceived as a word that rhymes with witch if she went
after her opponent. That is until he attacked her for a minor inconsistency in
her material. Then off came the gloves; his background working for developers was
unmasked and she sailed to victory. It’s
not negative if it’s true, relevant and fully documented.
- When women run against women. Increasingly, the races are between two
women. This new trend makes for interesting
campaigns. Women can still be “good
ol’ boys” and when you are the underdog, a newcomer or a progressive
taking on the system, you need to be prepared to point that out. If your opponent is someone you
personally like, and it is just on
some key issues that you differ (and you probably wouldn’t be in the race,
if these issues were not very important to you), remember, a campaign is
not personal. You can point out the reasons voters should vote for you and
not her, without turning into a pit bull.
You may not
enjoy best friendship status once the campaign is over, but if you feel
strongly about the issues, you need to make your best case to the voter,
despite who the opponent is.
- Your opponent is the “good ol’ boy.”
He’s taking you to task for inexperience, seizing on trivial
inconsistencies or gaps in your resume. Don’t be afraid to point pout how
you juggled home, family and your ambitious husband for those missing
years, and all that volunteer work you’ve done? Tout it. Then use your best advisors to craft a
message that shows you know policy and can deliver as well or better than
the man.
First time women
candidates do face tougher challenges, because of their perceived lack of
experience and need to be prepared to raise sufficient funding to offset it, to
point out the negatives of their more experienced opponent and to keep
emphasizing the experience they do have, whether political or not. Even taking on entrenched incumbents can be
done with the right set of tools.
While reluctant
at first to “go negative” a first time Supervisorial candidate taking on a long
time male incumbent, finally took the gloves off when she learned her opponent
was treating his public office like campaign central, in violation of the
law. She vowed to “let the sun shine” on
local government and won in a landslide.
Another neophyte
candidate went after her opponent’s do-nothing tenure in office and squeaked
out a narrow win, but a victory all the same, in a local special district race.
- Raising money.
This is something I have found women are reluctant to do. It’s an
ego thing. That is, they often feel
it is egotistical to ask for money for their own campaign. (Ironically,
women make tremendous fundraisers for non-profit causes and even other
candidates). They are running out a
deep sense of altruism and wanting to make the world a better place for
future generations. This is why
groups like Emily’s List have popped up.
Women often need some extra prodding, and training, to start
raising the necessary funds to get elected. Remember if you can’t raise enough money
to get your message to the voters, the best intentions won’t help you on
election day.
- You’re the boss. I have found that women candidates hate
to say no. When spouses, relatives
and their hair stylist tell them what their message ought to be, they
listen. And of course they should. But they also need to listen to their
own conscience and the experienced advice of their campaign
consultant. Men also have this
problem, but they tend to pick out one or two self-described “experts” and
demand their consultants take the advice offered.
In my
experience, the biggest losers have been those who ignored their consultant’s
advice and went instead with Aunt Sally
or George the engineer in their husband’s firm. They lost their elections and
some of them lost a lot of money too. Ultimately you are the boss, and your
desire not to hurt your friends’ and families’ feelings by ignoring their
advice could cost you the election.
Always thank them for their insight and run it by your consultant before
gently telling them your thick headed consultant wouldn’t listen to their
pearls of wisdom.
- “When women run, women win.” (Slogan variously attributed to Emily’s
List, National Women’s Political Caucus and Yale Women’s Campaigns school
among others) Things have changed over the years. Many of the misconceptions about women’s
chances at winning politics office are just that: misconceptions. Once
true, perhaps, but as we see more women professionals generally, we will
continue to see more women politicians. The sad thing is many women themselves
have bought into these misconceptions, making the decision to run a more
grueling one than it needs to be.
Many women still
believe they don’t stand a chance against seasoned male counterparts. Studies have shown when women run, they do as
well, if not better, than the men. They can raise as much money, they can get
the same share of the vote, and the bias toward them as women is not nearly so
pronounced as it was once. (Women Candidates in American Politics: What We Know, What We Want to
Know, Kathleen Dolan, Department of Political Science, University
of Wisconsin Milwaukee,
presented at the 2006 Midwest Political Science Association, meeting) Reviewing my own won-lost record over the past ten years, I see that of
my women candidates three fourths won their races, while just slightly more
than half of the men did.
But perceptions can paralyze the
would-be candidate. When women run, they win; the trouble is they
don’t run often enough.
10.
Your special positives as a woman. Stereotypes can help the woman
candidate, in being seen as more compassionate, honest, even “liberal” in a
time of corruption and lack of confidence in government generally. A Democratic woman taking on a Republican man
has several built in advantages, if she knows how to use them. Again, raising money, not being afraid of
“going negative” and emphasizing your real life experience, can all help a new
comer to local politics.
Women candidates and elected
officials will make up more and more of the American political landscape in the
future. This is a good thing. If you’ve been concerned about some of the
issues raised in this article, I hope
you will now feel more comfortable about running. Your chances are just as good as the next
guy’s.
