{"id":1030,"date":"2016-08-01T08:00:44","date_gmt":"2016-08-01T12:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/annelitwin.com\/?p=1030"},"modified":"2016-08-01T08:00:44","modified_gmt":"2016-08-01T12:00:44","slug":"hillary-clinton-and-theresa-may-how-gender-bias-is-still-with-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.annelitwin.com\/blog\/blog-posts\/hillary-clinton-and-theresa-may-how-gender-bias-is-still-with-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Hillary Clinton and Theresa May: How Gender Bias is Still with Us"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tEvery so often things happen in the world that, for a moment, make underlying biases and stereotypes visible that are usually underground and hard to see. I believe this happened in the United States with the subtle, and not-so-subtle, emergence of racism when Barack Obama ran for president, was elected, and tried to govern. I believe gender bias and sexism are emerging now with the first-ever nomination of a woman, Hillary Clinton, by a major party for the presidency in the United States, and with the election of Theresa May as Britain\u2019s new prime minister.\nJulia Baird of the New York Times<\/em><\/a> writes, \u201cThe fact that a cluster of men lead the world merits no comment. But if women start to slowly enter the ranks\u2014Theresa May, Angela Merkel in Germany, possibly Hillary Clinton in the United States\u2014it\u2019s treated as . . . some kind of gynocratic coup d\u2019etat: a new \u2018femokratie\u2019 . . . the \u2018dawn of a female world order. \u2019\u201d One British paper warned, \u201cThe women are coming!\u201d\nBaird notes that several insulting stereotypes have been used to describe May as a leader, including the Nanny (because she will now have to \u201cmop up\u201d after the Brexit mess created by her male counterparts) and the Thatcherite label of Iron Lady because she is known to take strong positions and be persistent. Baird observes that \u201cour notions of mature women in power urgently need updating.\u201d\nIn the online publication Vox, Ezra Klein surfaces some other sources<\/a> of gender bias in presidential politics when he tries to understand and explain the gap between Clinton as a public speaker\u2014described as careful, calculated, cautious and uninspiring\u2014and Clinton described by staff and colleagues as brilliant, funny, thoughtful, effective, and a good listener.\nBeing a good listener is the hallmark of Clinton\u2019s campaign style. In 2000, she conducted her senate campaign in New York State by doing \u201clistening tours.\u201d She won her senate seat against long odds because she listened and came to deeply understand what people in New York cared about. Once in office, she got legislation passed that addressed the concerns of her constituency. But, as Klein writes, \u201cmodern presidential campaigns are built to reward people who are really, really good at talking\u201d\u2014not listening. Klein goes on to point out that \u201cwe ran a lot of elections in the United States before we let women vote in them\u2014a process developed by men, dominated by men and, until relatively late in American life, limited to men. \u201d\nOur election process also favors traits particularly prevalent in men\u2014talking over listening.\nKlein cites one of my favorite gender linguistics scholars, Deborah Tannen<\/a>, who explains that women value listening to build rapport and relationships. She contrasts this preference with that of men who emphasize the status dimension of communication\u2014talking to increase status, or to win, versus listening to gain allies and build coalitions. A point by Klein that I find most interesting is that \u201cpresidential campaigns are built to showcase the stereotypically male trait of standing in front of a room speaking confidently\u2014charismatic oration versus deep relationship.\u201d\nKlein also offers observations by Brookings scholar Elaine Kamarck, author of Why Presidents Fail and How They Can Succeed Again<\/a><\/em>. She found that \u201csuccessful presidential leadership occurs when the president is able to put together and balance three sets of skills: policy, communication, and implementation.\u201d Campaigns only test communication.\nClinton is criticized for not being an inspirational speaker, but she has a long track record of making policy and getting things done in government through relationship and coalition building. While I agree that she has made some mistakes in her political career, isn\u2019t it sad that her depth of policy and legislative experience and her track record for getting things done are overshadowed by an opponent who is all entertainment bluster with no accomplishments or experience in governing? Trump loves to talk about the process being \u201crigged\u201d against him, but it seems to me it is actually rigged for him as a man who loves to talk to large audiences and increase his status by putting other people down. This is a form of gender bias I had not seen before, and it explains a lot.\nIs it new to you, too? What other gender bias is getting clearer for you in this election? Please share your observations in the comments section.\n \nThe image in this post is in the public domain courtesy of Jens Junge<\/a>.]]>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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