It's Time to Give Women a Chance

More prominent than ever in government, American women remain under-represented

When the craven mythomaniac Donald Trump became President, the unofficial title of leader of the free world that had been held by a US President since the end of World War II, passed to Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany. Given Germany’s position as the largest economy in Europe and the fourth largest in the world, Mrs. Merkel was the most powerful elected woman in the world. The contrast between her and Trump was stark: she, well-educated (a PhD in chemical engineering) and an accomplished, savvy politician as demonstrated by her 16-year tenure as Chancellor; Trump, what he’d always been, an unprincipled and immoral narcissist with a unique ability to attract attention, a carnival barker outclassed in every way a national leader can be.

Merkel was an example of a woman who was chief executive of her government and head of state, the ultimate power a democracy grants to a leader. (Note: I discount the powerful female monarchs of history, Elizabeth I of England and Russia’s Catherine the Great, for example, since they were not elected.) While the 20th Century did not give us many women in such positions of power, some who emerged after WW II- Indira Gandhi of India, Golda Meir of Israel, and Margaret Thatcher of Great Britain- are notable. Today, a younger cohort of women is stepping forward: Finland’s Prime Minister is the 38-year-old Sanna Marin; New Zealand’s Prime Minister is Jacinda Ardern (42). As for the United States, Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016 meant the US Presidency would continue as a men’s club.

Since the mid-20th Century, however, American women have to an increasing extent occupied eminent unelected government positions, most conspicuously in Presidential Cabinets. Beginning with Francis Perkins, Franklin Roosevelt’s Secretary of Labor, women held a variety of Cabinet posts in the administrations of Presidents from both parties: Patricia Roberts Harris (Jimmy Carter), was the first black woman to hold a Cabinet post; Elizabeth Dole (Reagan and George H.W. Bush) and Elaine Chao (George W. Bush and Donald Trump) both served in two administrations; and three women, Condoleeza Rice, Madelaine Albright, and Hillary Clinton, served as Secretary of State. Barrack Obama appointed 8 women to Cabinet positions over his 2 terms; Joe Biden has appointed five.

But it is in electoral politics that the discrepancy between women and men is most apparent. While it is true that Vice-President Kamala Harris and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi are number two and three respectively in the Presidential line of succession, and that the number of female Senators has steadily increased over the last 50 years, overall, women are not represented in elected office in proportion to their demographic (they are slightly more than 50% of the population). These statistics from RepresentWomen.org are telling:

When it comes to the fifty states, only nine currently have a female governor. Historically, serving as a governor can be a stepping stone to the White House: 17 of the 46 Presidents were governors first. It could be societal expectations favor men in executive positions. As Liz Crampton wrote in Politico last year,

A woman, of course, has never been elected president. And that mindset may also be reflected by the paltry number of female Fortune 500 CEOs: Just 8.1 percent, or 41 out of the 500 biggest businesses are run by women, and that’s a record high.

Governance is a complex endeavor. The skill set of an effective legislator may be inconsistent with what is needed to be an effective administrator, and even the most accomplished administrator may lack the qualities of leadership required by a chief executive. If we include the charisma and communication skills necessary to win a statewide or national election, few persons, woman or man, are qualified for chief executive office. A quick review of current women in the House and Senate shows how few of them have executive branch experience at any level of government. Of the 24 women currently in the Senate, only one (Democrat Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire) was a governor. Among the 122 House members who are women, there is one with a smattering of executive experience (one year as Lieutenant-Governor). In a similar vein to a governor, winning election to a Federal office has been a strong indicator of a person’s chances to be President. As this table from PresidentsUSA.net shows, 17 of the 46 men elected President were Senators; only nine grabbed the brass ring without at least one term in the Senate.

So who might have the next opportunity to be the first woman elected President? What would it take? There are some very impressive women scattered across the political landscape, but will they draw the inside straight- the combination of administrative and communication skills, leadership qualities, and the ability to do well on a national stage that will lead them to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? I would add age as a consideration, as it is time for the Baby Boomers to step aside and clear the way for Gen Xers and Millennials. Many of the better-known names bandied about will not likely get the opportunity: Among House members, Liz Cheney has national recognition because of her principled stance on the House January 6 Committee, but being cashiered by Trumpist Republicans means she has no party backing. Performative clownettes such as Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene won Congressional districts, but not statewide elections. The same is true for Democrat Alexandra Ocasio Cortez and others on the Progressive left. The Democrats have a group of earnest legislators, pragmatists such as Katy Porter, Elissa Slotkin, Abagail Spanberger, and Elaine Luria, but can any of them build national support? (This is not a problem limited to women; anyone, woman or man, who aspires to higher office must ask themselves these questions.)

Prominent names from both parties who currently show up in the news are not likely to have a realistic chance to secure the nomination for President. If Joe Biden decides against running for a second term, it is not a given that Vice-President Kamala Harris secures the nomination in 2024. Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Harris entered the race in 2020, but all dropped out and have not indicated interest at this point in making another attempt. And in a Republican Party in the thrall of Trumpism, the short-term opportunity for someone such as former S. Caroline governor Nikki Haley is fading as her political status goes from rising star to background singer. The current media buzz about the 2024 Republican nomination is centered on the potential candidacy of Donald Trump squeezing out the competition, particularly Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor. That leaves up-and-coming Republican women like S. Dakota governor Kristi Noem in political limbo.

Dark Horses: Who Will Emerge in the Future

The Democrats are the more diverse of the two parties and have more women in elective office at all levels. Governors Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, both up for re-election in November, are the type of leaders who could build national support. In Florida, Congresswoman Val Demmings is challenging Senator Marco Rubio for his seat; she gained recognition in the first Trump impeachment trial. Arguably, defeating Rubio would seem to be a political necessity for Demmings.

As elections do, the 2022 elections will not only determine the direction of our politics for the near future but also the political future of many of the participants. Some figures will fade, but there are others, younger, lesser known, who will emerge in future election cycles. For example, take Mallory McMorrow, a 35-year-old State Senator in Michigan, whose viral videos display the fundamental political skill of telling a story that people can relate to.

In a broad perspective, the inherent nature of democratic government is, as the writer Teri Kanefield puts it, “messy”. When there are many voices, not all get heard. It is not possible to satisfy all wants or even needs. For a government to be effective, more than efficient administration and a competent bureaucracy is required; it takes political leadership, and the ability to unify a majority of the people. That is a quality not reserved for the males of the species

Post-Script

A short, informal list of women who are serving or have served in government in unelected but substantial positions :

• Avril Haynes, Director of National Intelligence

• Lisa Monaco, Deputy Attorney-General

• Janet Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury, former Chair of the Federal Reserve

• Gina Hapel, former Director of the CIA

• Susan Rice, former National Security Advisor

• Judges at every level of the Federal Judiciary and four Justices of the Supreme Court

• Members of the staffs of Representatives and Senators

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