[dropcap]W[/dropcap] omen. Presidency. Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton. Do you remember that election? I think you might know something about it. That election was by far one of the most nerve wracking elections the United States has ever had. In the end, Trump won by a meer 74 electoral votes. Many people thought Trump should win because of his views on taxes but many thought Clinton should win because of her views on domestic political issues, but i won’t bore you with that. There were many reasons why Clinton did not end up winning, but what exactly did that mean to the future of the United States? Another question, what were those reasons she didn’t win, from the standpoint of women leadership and empowerment? I’m not going to talk about this election is great depth but it gives an example about men and women’s role in the political field, which evidently is my topic, so that’s what i’m going to talk about. 

There are many reasons why America has never had a female President, and both sides of the world-wide argument are true, but let’s cut the crap… women have never been seen to be equal to men. Just look back at the world’s history and that should be enough evidence. I strongly believe that a woman could make a HUGE impact on our world today. Different perspectives from men to women could bring a lot more opportunities for our country itself. So why exactly have we never jumped at that opportunity, are we ready?

Is American even ready?

That is a common question in peoples mind when they are contemplating who to vote for. As you can probably tell, we have had a male President for many years. America has had a lot of successes with a male in charge but a change in power might be just what we need. Let’s look back on the previous Presidential election in 2016 when the two head runners, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were candidates for the President of the United States of America. Donald Trump, in the end, came out victorious but there are many reasons why that was the result. A debate about whether or not America is ready for a female President went on between Michele Bachmann and Olympia J. Snowe was recorded on the Washington Post. “Well, I do think we’re ready and prepared (for a woman president),” former Republican senator Olympia J. Snowe said in Schnell’s book. “I think in looking back at history, you have to have more women running to even get to a place where the country is focused on a female candidate for president.”

Photo Credit: Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead

What are the pros to having a female President?

There are many pros to having a female in office and here are a couple examples:

• • More women = better problem-solving

• • Female leaders are trusted

• • Women leaders are more collaborative

• • Women make terrific mentors

• Millennial women are more educated than men

A recent study from the Digital Journal about the collaboration of males and females showed that “teams of girls outperformed boys in collaborative problem solving¨. The reason for this is told during an interview from C. M. Rubin, “Girls show more positive attitudes towards relationships, meaning that they tend to be more interested in others’ opinions and want others to succeed”. According to OECD Programme for International student assessment, “the same results were repeated in every country around the world”.

On the other hand, there are also some advantages of having a male President, on Amanda Johns Vandens blog she listed a few examples:

• They get to the point quicker
• I tend to know where I stand more often
• There seems to be less gossip (in general)
• They actually seem to have a little more “fun” at work
• They tend to give it to me straight and don’t worry about hurting my feelings (some may say this is a bad thing but I like it)
• There is less brainstorming and more doing (again, some may think this is a con but I prefer doing rather than talking about doing)
• They are less passive aggressive. I am rarely confused when someone gets mad … I may not agree but at least I know why

These reasons above are opinion based so there might be different interpretations of this topic. This was from her personal outlook on this topic but i thought it was important to mention people’s personal thoughts and not just all facts.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] “If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman”.       Margaret Thatcher [/perfectpullquote]

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/01/14/women-and-leadership/st_2015-01-14_women-leadership-2-13/

Here is a graph comparing women and men’s leadership skills. As the graph illustrates from a research taken by Pew Research Center, women are 31% better a being honest and ethical, 30% better at providing fair pay and good benefits, and 25% better at being fantastic mentors but fall behind men on negotiating and taking risks which is where men excel at in the business world. 

What are the cons to having a female President?

Some common questions people often have concerning a female having that amount of power in our society are:

• • Would her policies differ from those of male presidents?

• • Would she have a feminine leadership style?

• • Would her presence change stereotypes about women?

• Are Americans really ready for a woman president?

These are only a few of the concerns Americans have about female authority but each question is valid. I personally feel that these concerns are are only a small piece of a bigger puzzle and they might not affect the US long term. 

Amanda Vaden also mentioned some disadvantages with male leadership, in her own opinion which i thought was insightful.

• I tend to leave meetings with no real direction … Lots of talking but no real action items to implement
• I always seem to feel like “what next?”
• I get left out a lot … They all seem to buddy up but leave me out because I am a woman. How can I create relationships if I never get invited? (I am constantly confused about this one)
• It drives me nuts that the male leaders I know still stereotype women in the office as emotional – this generality is not true for all women
• There is some tendency to think they are somehow above reproach, deserve more pay for the same work, can do less and still get the credit. (Again, this is not for all men leaders but still a common trend I have noticed)
• The lack of a collaborative effort or inclusion leaves others feeling bossed around or “managed” instead of being led
• There seems to be less systems, organization, follow through, details and follow up … Perhaps this is a pro and I don’t know it but this is my biggest factor in frustration when working with other male leaders

What would a female President do to our economy?

Basically stated, a female in office could make big steps towards a better future for our country. Marie O’Reilly from Public Radio International(PRI) stated that “As the percentage of women in parliament increases by 5 percent, a nation is five times less likely to use violence when faced with an international crisis, according to American scholars who analyzed four decades of international data”. If violence goes down in our country there would be a lot more peace and equality for everybody. The increase of women in office truly does improve the quality of our government so why do we still not have a female President if all the statistics are saying women are more qualified?

Is sexism a factor?

It has been said that Hillary Clinton lost the previous election because of sexism, but is that true? In her eyes it did involve sexism which turned voters away. Hillary talked about sexism and the effect it had on the election. “It is real. It is very much a part of the landscape politically, socially and economically.” There were actually a lot more reasons why Hillary didn’t get voted into office besides sexism.

https://www.glamour.com/story/donald-trump-history-of-calling-women-dogs-omarosa

This tweet from President Trump clearly illustrates the way women in a political field are looked at as. Trump, not only stereotyping women by the crying remark, also refers to the women as a “dog”. The White House mention was just as offensive. He is loosely basing womens actions to the fact that they should not have a spot in the White House or any other political leader for that matter. This tweet can be interpreted differently of course but you can not deny the ignorance in this tweet.

Will the time ever come for women to finally have their time to shine?

As of the last election, America was preparing themselves for their first female President, Hillary Clinton. After Hillary lost the election, America kept in their ways going along with yet another male President, continuing with no change. No one knows for sure when and if America will ever have a female President but statistics show it could possibly happen in the next 10 years, and hopefully will for the benefit of the USA.

So to wrap up, I have summed up basically everything you need to know about why we should have a female in office but it all comes down to what you all believe is true. I can tell you my side and try to persuade you but ultimately it’s your decision. I do hope though that this was an eye opener about how little women are thought of as a strong, independent leader and I hope you will one day get the chance to say that you voted for the first female President in US history.  

The real question everybody will always ask is: Should we have a female President?

The basic answer is yes, yes we should.

Featured image credit: https://trainwithpg.com/usa-1344768_960_720/