Women Power and Politics - Essay Example

Traditionally politics and power were the prerogative of men, while women were supposed to live under the laws developed by their husbands. Nevertheless, the history provided numerous examples when women were successful political leaders and were able to influence the way people lived. Today women have equal opportunities to advance power; however, the debates about under-representation of women in politics are still sharp. Is there a difference between men's and women's politics Feminists would argue that such difference does not exist, while the evidence points out that in fact there is a difference: women appear less visible in politics. It occurs not because they are less active, but because their presence in parliament or in judiciary is minor. Society of today does not think of politics as men's place, however, the treatment of woman-politician and man-politician is still not the same. European countries are supporting involvement of women in politics because citizens of these states believe that a woman is more caring and thoughtful about her nation and treats all people as her children. As Amy Sowder has noted, Ireland, Latvia, Finland, Philippines and other countries have voted for a female president, while the Americans would never do the same choice. Why Does it mean that American citizens do not trust women and do not believe in their ability to lead the country to the further prosperity It has been noted at the first lecture that women use practical gender difference as the major concepts. I agree, because the American society is used to assumption that women are supposed to be subordinated by men and for this reason there is no place for them in politics. Amy Sowder used the words of Marie Young, Escambia Country commissioner, who said that men really believe that politics is their place, but because they cannot prevent women from political involvement they act as if men are just letting women to do it. Even though the article is written purely from feminine side, the point that women are able to push for change through teachers and parents is interesting and is reasonable. This quote is directly related to the concept of gender GAP - when people vote on the basis of gender. Women tend to express greater concern for social services and are more affected than man in this issue. Therefore, women are more community oriented while men are more power oriented. For this reason there should be a balance between women and men representation in politics. The author of the article "Women in Sudan" is focused on the representation of women in politics in Islamic countries. It is well-known that women from Islamic countries are lacking most of the rights granted to women in the rest of the world. However, the author notes that today the Islamic society has much changed: women present a strong exterior, possess toughness of mind and spirit. It to look at Sudanese women, it can be boldly said they females in Sudan are in much better position than in other more developed countries. For example, the quota system was developed under which women are guaranteed the seats in federal and state legislature. 25 percent of all federal seats are granted to women. The community understands that women can be effective in politics and change the life of citizens to better. The author expressed his opinion in the final two sentences: "It is very clear that there claims by newspapers such as 'The Times' that women's rights are in their "infancy" simply do not reflect the reality of the position, status and activities of women in Sudan. The fact is that within the Arab and Islamic world Sudan has led the way with regard to women's social, political and economic rights." I agree with this claim, but I wonder why the Islamic world were women were always in minor position has realized the benefits of women's participation in politics while United States has not I do think that women in politics are feministic issue because both men and women have equal abilities to think, to lead and to make decisions. Therefore, all of the claims that women and power are two self-exclusive concepts are based on stereotypes when woman is perceived as a house keeper and a mother only. Movements for men's or women's political dominance will not be successful because both of them are heading in the wrong direction: radical and cultural feminists think that United States are patriarchal while men try to minimize the opportunities for political advancement of women because of the idea that women will lead the country to crisis. Yes, men and women are different and the combination of their abilities can bring numerous benefits to the country. I disagree with the idea that these differences should be emphasised. The next press release I have chosen to look at is the interview with former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell who has proved that women can be successful in politics just as men are. She notes that women have played an important role to leadership worldwide. There have been 29 women who have served as a President or the Prime Minister of their countries (Brown 2000). She analysed the issues of why it took so long for women to gain equal opportunities and advance in politics to the level they occupy today. As it was already noted above, the major cause is the stereotyped perception of politics being truly masculine thing to do. The cultural beliefs often become a barrier in acceptance of female politics - men and women lead differently, but it does not mean that either men or women are better. In class we have examined Ruth Lister and her position of women's equal political citizenship. She has noted that it is necessary to recognize and value women's informal different politics. It is true that women are more active in informal politics on the local level rather than national; however, I strongly disagree that this fact should be stressed and preserved further. Women should not be limited in their opportunities to advance on the national level - they are productively working on the local level so why cannot they be equally successful on the national level Ruth argues for advancing women's political citizenship - not merely advancing a selecting group of females into high racks of politicians but empowering a wide range of female citizens. This position is very similar to the program developed in Sudan and can be implemented in United States with the same success as it was done in Sudan. It is not the question any more that women do not have the opportunity to advance in politics and be involved in political decision making process. There are many women who are active in politics, but their presence is much lowered compared with men. Campbell concluded her speech with the words that women are gaining recognition as essential players in the political arena and as contributors to the global society. While doing the search for the press releases devoted to the women in politics, I did not notice any negative comments from the authors - nobody has claimed that women and politics are two self-exclusive concepts. On the contrary, people tend to believe that there is no difference between women or men in political involvement. Of course, men and women might perceive the problems differently and as the result, chose the different solutions. When Barkley - Waithe has been applying for the local government, she knew that there would be challenges and obstacles ahead, but she did not believe that these obstacles could come from the members of the parties she belonged to. In the article "Women In Politics: Discrimination Amongtst Women" she notes that most of the discrimination came from the people who have approahced her before the election and she was forced to take back her application before the election started. This situation is very typical not only for women in politics but for men as well. Politics means power and those who feel that one candidate is strong enough to win, they will try to prevent his success because of different factors, jealousy and desire to be successful as well, for example. As the above example has proved there is not difference between emotions women and men express about politics. It is true that not everybody goes into politics to make positive changes, and some of the people are just seeking for power and recognition. It happens both with men and women. It is important to understand that women should not be too focused on struggling for equality between men and women because such equality will never be achieved - it would be highly illogical to divide all seats in government by two and one half give to women representatives and other to men. Representatives are chosen by people and if people are more confident in men's government with lower representation of women, than people have some reasons to think so and, more importantly, people have the right to think that way. The differences between men and women in politics are based on the perception that males and females have a different degree of influence in meeting the societal needs. The American society has an assumption that men are more able to fight for reforms successfully, while women tend to give up if something does not work out. Unfortunately, there is no significant research available to prove or neglect this assumption; however, the presence of successful female politicians gives the hope that this assumption is false. Modern women are close and some cases have reached the point when society does not perceive them being unable to become successful politicians. As it was mentioned in class, even if the parliament will consist of 50 percents of women, feminists will not be satisfied. Therefore, the reasonable balance should be achieved. Women in Politics - where are they This is the question one of the authors in trying to answer in his article. He looks at the situation on Cayman Islands and makes a note that each year the number of women who have managed to join the highest team of leaders in Assembly is reducing. After reviewing the article, I have noticed that one of the major reasons why this decline occurs is that fewer women are willing to offer themselves for the political candidacy. The author made a very interesting remark characterizing the position of female politicians all over the world: "We live in a time when women are supposed to be taken more seriously when it comes to leadership politically all over the world, but there is still plenty of evidence to suggest that entrance into the anterooms of power is still regulated by the seemingly ubiquitous boys' club" (Women in Politics - where are they 2005). Traditions and customs of each country influence the willingness of women to enter political arena as well as readiness of the society to vote for a female candidate. Traditionally, the society has assigned particular roles to males and females: the informal norms of how males and females should behave and what fields of interest to pursue. Modern women are not the same as they were 20, 50 and 100 years ago, they have changed and proved the world that they are able and willing to contribute to the society's prosperity. There are several examples in this paper about women from such opposite worlds as Europe and Islamic countries being very successful in politics. America seems to be at the stage of conceptualizing the possibility of women occupying high political positions and it would be reasonable to expect that one day people will elect a female president, in the far future. Word Count: 1941 References Barkley - Waithe, N. (2003, November 22). Women In Politics: Discrimination Amongtst Women. Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action. Retrieved March 30, 2006, from http://www.cafra.org/article.php3id_article=310. Brown, T. (2000, September 29). Campbell Discusses Women in Politics. The Hoya News. Retrieved March 30, 2006, from http://www.thehoya.com/news/092900/news6.htm. Sowder, Amy. (2006, March 28). Panel: Politics can be women's power platform. Pensacola News Journal.com. Retrieved March 30, 2006, from http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articleAID=/20060328/NEWS01/603280324/1006 Women in Politics - Where are they (2005, March 25). Cayman Net News. Retrieved March 30, 2006, from http://www.caymannetnews.com/2005/03/802/women.shtml Women in Sudan. (2002, July 19). Shia news. Retrieved March 30, 2006, from http://www.shianews.com/hi/articles/politics/0000270.php Read More