Friday, May 6, 2016
Could a Clinton Presidency Finally Shatter the Glass Ceiling?
For the first
time in Canada’s history, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed equal numbers
men and women to his cabinet when he took office last year. When asked why, Trudeau stated simply,
“Because its 2015.” Meanwhile in the United States, liberal presidential
candidates consistently promise to promote women and people of color, but avoid
naming exact quotas. Hillary Clinton might just be the one to change that. Last week in an interview on MSNBC, Clinton
pledged to break up the Old Boy’s Club if elected, telling Rachel Maddow, "I am going to have a cabinet that looks like
America, and 50 percent of America is women, right?"
American
hesitance to set quotas is not shared by much of the world, where quotas have
helped propel women into leadership positions.
Rwanda, Costa Rica, Chile and France are just a few of the 28 countries
ranked ahead of the United States by the 2015 UN Women’s Index of women in
ministerial positions. Finland stands as number one, with 62.5% women in the
ministry.
A
50-50 split in the U.S. cabinet would require doubling the current number of
women. Political and gender analysts say Clinton is positioned to accomplish
this feat given her track record of appointing women to leadership roles and
her network of qualified female candidates. Beyond the number of women in the
cabinet, certain departments have historically been open to women, while others
have remained sealed. The Department of Heath and Human Services, for example,
has had five female heads. Conversely, a woman has never headed the Departments
of Defense, Treasury, or Veteran Affairs. This gendered discrepancy reveals
some ingrained norms (i.e. women as caretakers, men as soldiers; women as
emotional and nurturing, men as aggressive and analytical).
If
she keeps her promise, a Clinton presidency could dramatically alter the
governance of the United States. And if Finland is any indication, this change
could be extremely beneficial. Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, CEO of Twenty first, a
consulting company dedicated to gender equity in business, says, “companies
with more gender-balanced leadership teams significantly outperform companies
with only men at the helm. Why wouldn’t this be even more true at a country
level?” (Not so) Coincidently, Finland boasts the best public school system in
the world, paid maternity leave and subsidized childcare. Wittenberg-Cox notes
these topics are only taken seriously when women gain political representation.
Could
Clinton’s pledge to advance other women be the final shove against the cracking
glass ceiling? Only time will tell. But we are hopeful, and we will hold
Hillary to her promise.
--Kathleen Melendy, MWPC Intern
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