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Jennifer S Delgado
Professor Malcolm Campbell
UWRT 1104
September 29, 2016
The Politics Behind Women in Politics
Introduction/Overview
I am interested in knowing why there is not yet equal representation for men and women

in most governments. Through this project, I will also be exploring the effects of women in

politics to the overall government success and patterns of change in the legislation as more

women participate.

When discussing the facts with a peer, we both agreed that the statistics show no sign of

development for representation of women in the government; The Pew Research Center states

that in 2015, only 19% of the congress members were women, a mere total of 104 people

speaking on behalf of the 323,127,513 women in the country. The same study surveyed a hand

full of men and women asking them what they thought held women back from gaining top

elective offices. Half of the women, versus only 28% of men, said that, among all the factors

against them, it is the higher standard for women that limits their progress. According to

UNWomen.org, as of June 2017 there are "only two countries that have a 50% or higher number

of women in parliament in single or lower houses": Rwanda (61.3%) and Bolivia (53.1%). The

United States is ranked 98th place worldwide. This study has proved that the countries that we

expect to be all about gender-equality, need to step up their game and commit to the Beijing

Declaration and Platform for Action made in 1995. The Fourth World Conference on Women in

Beijing outlined the goal to empower women and their development through twelve critical

points. An academic journal from the University of Gettysburg concluded that "countries with
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higher proportions of women in government have higher levels of government effectiveness,"

using real GDP per capita, level of democracy, and index of globalization as control variables.

This research can be backed up by statistics presented even in local governments, as the

UNWomen.org proved. For example, in India, women-led councils arranged 62% more drinking

water projects than those areas led by men.

A strong majority of Americans (75%) agree that men and women make equally good

political leaders (Pew Research Center). However, one-in-five Republicans say that men make

better leaders, while 16% of Democrats lean the other way arguing that women better suit the

role. In another recent study, it was found that women are more prone to cooperation and

compromise instead of competition, which is an argument that some may use to prove that

women would make better choices for peace-keeping in politics. Yet, as we observed in the 2016

elections, several people fought against a female as a strong political figure because they believe

that women base decisions off of their emotions, making them unstable and unqualified. Others

believe that women would lack confidence and success in confronting other world leaders.

Women are still responsible for childcare and household task; some may argue this is an obstacle

to women advancing, while others believe it is exactly why women shouldnt enter politics. One

internet source that dedicates itself to having conversations is Debate.org, where 69% concluded

that women are not better in politics than men. Going through the written answers, many of them

disagreed that women were superior because they believe neither gender is "better."
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Initial Inquiry Question(s)

What are the struggle of women in politics?

What changes in legislation are there as more women take roles in the government?

Does women involvement change the countries' status?

My Interest in this Topic

I am part of the 58% of women that have, according to the Pew Center Research,

increased attention to politics after the 2016 campaign. However, it was much before that that I

had started to take interests in intergovernmental affairs and the chaos that is consuming our

humanity. I have payed close attention to the actions (or inactions) of leaders that have

jeopardized the safety and rights of their people. Through these observations, I have decided that

if I want to help people, the most influential way to do so is through the government. So, this is

my topic of choice because I want to know what I am up against. Through this project I want to

gain motivation to succeed in my field.

Next Steps

I plan to keep updating myself through the information from the Pew Research Center,

which has already been very useful. I am also going to focus on websites like UNWomen.org

and other cites that emphasize statistics. To effectively see what impact there has been on

legislation, I am going to look up recent bills passed in countries where more women have taken

roles. Using the school database, I'll look up scholarly articles on Academic Search Complete

and Films on Demand. Of course, I will also take advantage of the books provided, specifically

Hillary Clinton's recent book What Happened.

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