Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Carly Fiorina have been strong competitors in the 2016 president campaign. Despite their wide media coverage and strong base of supporters, there are many Americans who doubt either candidate will succeed to win the election. This perspective of the female political underdog derives from the archaic ideals of sexism. It’s because of this sexisms that female presidential candidates must be ultra strategical with their rhetoric and communication. Despite the strong sexism in politics, female presidential candidates should use their femininity as an asset to their campaign strategy. While there has been a recent increase of female politicians, these women face extreme difficulties during their campaigns.
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A 2012 report by the Women & Politics Institute states “one of the biggest barriers keeping women from emerging as candidates centered around self-perceptions of qualifications to run office” (Lawless and Fox). If the candidate does not truly believe they are qualified, then it will be difficult for votes to believe they are as well. Because of lingering misogyny in politics, women have felt as if they are incompetent in comparison with male candidates despite their actual qualifications. This is not always the case. “Researchers Kathryn Pearson from the University of Minnesota and Eric McGhee from the Public Policy Institute of California suggest that women are equally as qualified as men in political affairs, in most cases, even more qualified than their male counterparts” (Gonzalez). There are many research studies done to support the candidacy of female politicians. The Pew Research center said women have the right qualities Americans are looking for in a politician including honesty, intelligence, and compassion. Despite these findings, only six percent of adults said overall women make better political leaders than men. There is a strong contradiction in these results because of the underlying misogyny in American politics. People are proud to say that women have the right qualities to president, but are resistant to say that they will make a better president than men. Female presidential candidates must learn to fight this
A 2012 report by the Women & Politics Institute states “one of the biggest barriers keeping women from emerging as candidates centered around self-perceptions of qualifications to run office” (Lawless and Fox). If the candidate does not truly believe they are qualified, then it will be difficult for votes to believe they are as well. Because of lingering misogyny in politics, women have felt as if they are incompetent in comparison with male candidates despite their actual qualifications. This is not always the case. “Researchers Kathryn Pearson from the University of Minnesota and Eric McGhee from the Public Policy Institute of California suggest that women are equally as qualified as men in political affairs, in most cases, even more qualified than their male counterparts” (Gonzalez). There are many research studies done to support the candidacy of female politicians. The Pew Research center said women have the right qualities Americans are looking for in a politician including honesty, intelligence, and compassion. Despite these findings, only six percent of adults said overall women make better political leaders than men. There is a strong contradiction in these results because of the underlying misogyny in American politics. People are proud to say that women have the right qualities to president, but are resistant to say that they will make a better president than men. Female presidential candidates must learn to fight this