DALLAS (USA): Why is America hesitant to see a woman as President in the White House? The potential is undeniable, as seen in Vice President Kamala Harris’s 2024 presidential polls, but Trump emerged victorious. There is immense potential for women in leadership roles.
Ninety-six years after women won the right to vote, the United States has had 24 presidential elections and 14 female candidates.
Why has it taken so long for the U.S. to have a woman leader when 63 countries had one?
It’s a fact that the U.S. has not yet seen a ‘ woman President’ in its 250-year history, despite women’s active involvement in politics and leadership roles for centuries. Since 1872, fourteen women have run for President’s position.
In the last two decades, high-profile women leaders like Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris have been nominated by national parties. Still, both times, they failed to get to the top. Though many people believed women were deserving, gender bias prevented them from reaching high office. People who thought women were as good as men often did not vote for her, even in the primaries. There lies the dilemma. Though women won elections as much as men, they still face disadvantages in elections due to gender bias.
Today, there are 60 members of the Council of Women World Leaders, all current or former freely elected heads of state or government as President, prime minister or chancellor. This raises the question, why can’t the world’s most powerful nation elect a woman president?
Over 100 countries enhance women’s opportunities to lead by implementing a quota system that mandates a minimum number of parliamentary seats to be occupied by women. This allows women to develop their political skills as parliament members or deputies.
It is hard for women to be candid and say they are likely to win, even when they have data to support their claims. People often expect them to declare they can win. Since 2000, at least one woman has run in the presidential primaries of one of the two major parties. These candidates include Elizabeth Dole (2000), Carol Moseley Braun (2004), Hillary Rodham Clinton (2008), Michelle Bachmann (2012), and both Hillary Clinton and Carly Fiorina in 2016. No woman ran for a major party nomination in the 1990s. In the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton received more votes than her opponent Donald Trump but did not become President. Many people viewed her as divisive, and opinions about her were strongly divided.
Why did Kamala Harris not get elected despite her hard work? She faced several challenges. First, she had little time to campaign because President Biden did not make room for her early. Second, Trump had started his campaign a year earlier and was well-prepared for the election. Being a woman of Asian and African descent has both advantages and challenges. Trump received votes from different communities, including many white women, which helped him create a strong and diverse support base.
In the end, the U.S. missed another chance to elect a woman president. Many people may feel the time is not right for that yet. Political parties need to support women leaders so they can develop more skilled female candidates. (IPA Service)