One of the things this campaign has been bringing home to me lately is the paucity of women in general being groomed for higher office. We have only 16 female Senators. Most of the candidates I see advocated for on this site at the congressional level are men.
I was listening to Dee Dee Myers on NPR today. She was talking about the campaign, and one thing she said that I agree with is that a woman exactly equal to Barack Obama in experience and qualifications, would not have been able to reach the level of a run for the presidency (paraphrasing). I listened to that and thought a young woman, would people, male or female, accept her run, and came to the conclusion that Dee Dee is right. Hillary Clinton has some things going for her that have made her acceptable as a candidate, her age (middle aged women are seen to have the kind of gravitas accorded to even much younger men) and her husband (not derogatorily, but women forging new territory do better with mentors and you can't beat hers).
The question I've been trying to answer is what has to change before a 46-year-old female can be accorded respect that goes without even thinking about it, to a similarly qualified male of that age.
I realized I can't even sort out the problem here. Is it that younger women are more involved in childrearing in a way that the men are not? There are certainly ambitious and qualified young women, and women represent way over half of the vote in this party, so why the dearth. What happens to eliminate women from the upper echelons of this sweepstakes? Why did it take being married to a supportive (well mostly) former president to enable a qualified woman to be taken seriously in this national race.
Myers also told the story in her speech of how orchestral auditions changed when it became clear not enough gifted women were being accepted. They started to curtain off the candidates. This resulted, I think she said, in a 5-fold increase in woman who were accepted. Something has to change in the way we hear and see women, something in our sense of what kind of style is acceptable for a leader, so that a young woman can receive the kind of hearing that a JFK, or Obama, or any youthful politician (male) receives.
Now, I am an Obama supporter for reasons that have nothing to do with gender, but man would I like to see his female equivalent up there in the race. I don't think that is going to happen for a while.
When I was in Italy in the late 60s I remembered the gap between the young women, usually on the arm of a man, or up to their ears in kids, and the older women. Many of them were widows, in black, but they spoke strongly, aired their views, bounced the men around verbally when called for, and seemed free and sure of themselves. I thought of that when Myers made the assertion about a woman of Obama's age. It's true and it made me very uneasy.
One other thing, if I was involved in the process of educating those whose future was going to be in politics, either through a university or a political party, this is something I would put some thought and funds into. Not sure how, but do know why. I wonder if this will ever change.
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