It may seem that women are out in full force in the political arena as voters make their way to the polls this election season. With a record breaking 160 women congressional and gubernatorial candidates who won their primaries and are set to be on the ballot next week, many are celebrating 2010 as “the year of the woman”. But others argue that this year is anything but woman-centric and we should instead prepare to see the percentage of women in congress become drastically lower as many lose their seats for the first time in 30 years.
A recent article from CNN reports about the possible blow women may face in politics this year. President of the Women’s Campaign Forum, Siobhan Bennett, fears that women are not being represented properly in U.S. politics. Bennett cites data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union that ranks the U.S. as 90th in the world for women in elected office, “We trail behind Cuba and Afghanistan.”
Because we are expected too see a lot of democrats lose their seats in the Senate and the House, this translates into seeing a drop in women being represented because most of the female lawmakers are democrats. As an example, there are 73 women currently holding seats in the house and 56 of these women are democrats.
And even though there are a lot of women running for seats this year, it will not be enough to make up for the losses. Bennett says, “The deeper problem underneath all this is we do not have a pipeline or a bench of women prepared to step up and run for the inevitable number of women that we are going to lose this cycle.”
To make matters worse, some of the national polls have been showing that women are not as enthusiastic as they have been in the past about heading to the polls. Some believe this is due to the fact that women have been turned off by the current economic and political climate.
One program that wants to create a pipeline of women set to step up and run for political office is “She Should Run.” The program is run by the Women’s Campaign Forum and works by recruiting women into the political arena as well as urging them to spread the word by encouraging their friends and colleagues to run for office.
What do you think about this report showing the percentage of women in Congress will be decreasing dramatically this year?
Do you feel less enthusiastic about voting this year? If so, why?
I am not worried about the gender of the candidate either. I just want someone who know what they are doing.
I am tired of hearing about gender and race, as though that makes a person what he or she is. We need to start considering our country. Which candidates will keep our girls and boys safe in an ever changing and violent world? Which candidates will make sure our economy is on the right track not only for us, but for our children and grandchildren? Which candidates will stop the spending sprees as if it is their money? If we need more women in office, then we need the women who are more conservative in their spending.
I just hope everyone shows up to vote and studies who they vote for not just because of gender, race, or looks. So, if you haven't voted please do so! If you do not vote you have NO reason to complain when the country goes down the hole!!!
I agree with dhaubner, seeing a woman in that position would be wonderful. However, male or female..dem or rep...there has to be SOMEONE out there that can fix the mess we are in!!
I am not to thrilled about the direction the country has gone.So many people believe in and want change and I just feel diappointed at the lack of change the united states is expierencing.Or lack of GOOD change to benifit us the people anyways.
Who is better at picking up the pieces and making things all better? I would love it if a woman was the solution.
I think Linda has the right idea. I'd vote an alien from Mars in at this point, if they would get the country together. They couldn't do much worse than what is going on now.
I am not worried about the gender of the candidate. I am worried about who will help this country get back in shape. It is a mess out there!
I feel less enthusiastic. Whether Dem. or Rep. we need to start working together for the good of the country and stop all of the childish dirty politics.