The Political Representation of Women

Jian Yeo Y8

Women are discriminated against in many aspects of life, including a greater chance for men to become workers and not giving that many chances to women. Some people may believe or consider these things are a normal and ordinary situation in their daily lives, not really caring about how the women will feel a huge sense of discrimination. One of the major and most severe problems regarding the discrimination of women is the political representation of women. From a political perspective, there have been a myriad of issues concerning women throughout the years. They have not been treated the same as men in court or other political places. The most crucial fact that people have to know is that women were not given the opportunity to participate in decision making. Women were kept away from the decision-making tables, unable to show their opinions in certain situations, which may actually solve the consequences. The prejudice against and distrust of women are still continuing. Only 41% of the people living in Germany believed that a female head of government was very comfortable for them, in spite of Angela Merkel’s lengthy time of chancellorship. Even though some women possess power, due to the culture people have of distrust in women leaders, they are enduring political underrepresentation now. This further illustrates that it is more difficult for women to gain political power and stability. According to the BBC , a woman named Sean Nguyen believes that “male leaders tend to have more authority. It’s wrong and I’d like to see that change, but… we have to work within the system we exist in. ” Women are desperate for a change in the world; however, the world has already established a culture of men who are stereotypically described as being much more powerful and trustworthier than women. Furthermore, the political scientist Ono stated, “Female candidates face a more difficult time figuring out what would be the good strategy to win the election or get more support from people, because deviating from gender stereotypes might be bad for women. At the same time, conforming to gender stereotypes punishes them as well. So, it seems very difficult for female politicians to find the sweet spot when they plan their strategy. ” This makes women express themselves and stand out more in law courts or in other political meetings, creating a scheme of the lack of representation that women can show.

To take another example, Kamala Harris, the current Vice President of the United States, is predicted to become the United States’ highest ranking woman ever in history. However, despite numerous supporters’ encouragement, she still constantly faces criticism and distrust from some in her country and on the global stages where she makes her speeches.

Kamala Harris stands up to this, arguing against accusations that she is “shameful” to people, and instead stating that “an epidemic” of discrimination against women and girls “must end” .

On top of that, recent research suggests that female discrimination is getting much more severe due to the covid-19 pandemic. People are currently coping with finding jobs and due to the economic failures and decrease, women are affected by job cuts and reduced working hours, thereby not being able to earn money as much as before the pandemic. Same in politics, the number of women politicians have decreased because, as said before, the deadly cycle of women unable to represent themselves and their capabilities in political meeting points. The UN says that due to the pandemic, it is easy for them to imagine a scenery where there are lots of empty seats around the decision-making table and where women have to face and overcome difficult challenges to get those seats. Moreover, it is stated that women are putting themselves forward for elections more and more, yet their election numbers are still far behind the men. This became much more difficult as now, the pandemic is constantly becoming harsh and relentless. As aforementioned, it is extremely challenging for women to become politicians who can easily and comfortably speak out their opinions to the decision-making table. There has been a lack of representation of women throughout the past years and they are being perceived as weak due to the culture of men being seen as more trustworthy and high in credibility than women. People can’t leave these problems until they become more serious; however, they must instead stop them and give even more chances to women, allowing them to speak up for themselves.

Bibliography

https://www.undp.org/blog/struggle-women-politics-continues https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/leadership-and-political-participation/facts-andfigures https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/focus-areas/governance/political-participation-of-women https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zpdc3k7/revision/6 https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210108-why-do-we-still-distrust-women-leaders