The world has seen over 55 countries being led by women at various points in time since 1960. And the US stands with countries like China, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia and others who never had a female leader in all these decades. If even underdeveloped countries can elect women to top jobs, why hasn’t the US had a female head of state? Are women facing what Hilary Clinton once called a “pernicious double standard”? This question may be baffling. Various surveys and research conducted over the years during election periods highlight the gender bias existing in American society. Various researches over the years have found that voters rank male candidates as more effective than their female counterparts who may even be similarly qualified. Most voters also feel that men make superior political leaders. And if women are of colour, they are likely to be targeted with misinformation and disinformation.
In the 2020 US presidential campaign, several women senators were vying for the top job, but one by one, they dropped out of the race. One of the dropped-out candidates, Senator Elizabeth Warren was later asked whether gender affected the race, she told the media that if she acknowledged that sexism was there then everyone would say that she was a “whiner” and if she mentioned otherwise then many women would say she was not right. Nikki Haley, who was aspiring to be the Republican presidential nominee, however, suspended her bid in March 2024 for various reasons. Apart from several electoral factors contributing to her dropping out of the race, she also faced intense personal scrutiny. Her qualifications were questioned, comments on her appearance were made and she was mocked for having an absentee husband, who is deployed overseas.
Is this double standard the real cause of why the US has not elected a female head of state? After much struggle, women in America were given the right to vote in 1920. Since then, women have fought elections successfully but have not reached the top level. From Victoria Woodhull, the first-ever woman candidate to run for the presidential race in 1872 to Kamala Harris in 2024, the women in the US have had one of the most difficult journeys to reach the positions they are in today. The American dream, first mentioned in the 1931 book ‘The Epic of America’ by James Truslow Adams, talks about “a dream of a social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable”. A woman’s dream to become the US President has remained unfulfilled so far. But, this time, overcoming all odds, including sexism and racism, the US could see its first woman President in Kamala Harris in 248 years.
