Listen to the audio version of this post here.
“Men are stronger. Women are hormonal.” Really???
Women—lots of us—are working in businesses, non-profit organizations, and yes, in government.
It’s been that way for years now. Those of us who’ve reached a certain age might remember the days when a woman in our particular field was a rarity. I can think back to people who used to call a radio station and complain about those “girls” doing the news.
But, save for fields where physical size or strength is a requirement, we have found our way into all kinds of employment since then. It’s true that women are still in a minority at the most senior levels in some industries, but in general, even the executive suite doors have opened to more women in recent years.
You’d think gender would be a diminishing, or even vanishing issue.
And yet, when it comes to politics, you’d be wrong.
Kamala Harris doesn’t talk much about being a woman. Not that she’s hiding it, of course, it’s just not what she emphasizes when she discusses her background or her beliefs or her plans for our future. There’s no talk, this time around, about breaking “the highest, hardest glass ceiling.” Harris is not campaigning for the sake of being our first female president.
That doesn’t keep other people from focusing on gender, however.
Although Gallup says 93% of Americans would be willing to put a woman in the Oval Office, provided she’s from their political party, when you scratch below the surface, plenty of us have our doubts.
The Washington Post has been out talking to swing state voters; the results are not encouraging.
Both men and women raise objections to a female president.
Like the woman in Nevada, concerned that Harris isn’t tough enough. “Women — we have emotions, we have compassion, and we have all these other feelings that men don’t have.”
How about that real estate agent in Arizona? She told WaPo, “A male should be the head of the home and of the family and of society.”
Or the Pennsylvania woman, tastefully attired in a “Say NO to the Hoe” t-shirt. “When I sleep at night, I want a man running our country,” she said. “Men are stronger. Women are hormonal.”
Some negativity is aimed at Harris in particular, but then there’s this guy from a focus group back when Nikki Haley was still in the Republican presidential race. He wouldn’t want any female in charge of the nuclear codes, in case she’s “having a bad day, or that time of the month, or whatever.”
Ay ay ay.
I think of myself as pretty cynical about voters, but apparently, I’m not nearly cynical enough. I thought we were past all that! I’ve been surprised at the dated, ignorant sentiments we’ve heard from men. And especially from women.
They raise a question.
Most of us are not running for president. Backward sentiments from voters aren’t a personal stumbling block for us.
But do those people have the same objections to a woman as a physician? Or a CFO? Or a pharmaceutical researcher? Or …
At this point, my guess is: the answer is yes.
And here’s another question. Where does that leave us? It’s discouraging, isn’t it?
Of course there are voters, many of them, who support Harris in spite of gender. And some see it as an advantage instead of a negative. In fact, a Pew Research poll found 40% of voters think being a woman will be an asset for her on election day, while 30% labeled it a liability.
Could the same thing apply for women outside of politics?
Looking at my own industry, the speaking business has changed, for sure. Used to be, the big keynoters were overwhelmingly men. Way more women are taking the stage now, and some are commanding the kind of fees that used to go mostly to men.
There probably are meeting planners who prefer a female speaker for a particular event, based on the audience or the sort of experience they’re looking for.
(I will note, though, that when I Googled “high paid speakers” I got a list of 19 men … along with Brené Brown and Suze Orman.)
Whatever you do for a living, I’m curious whether it’s the same story in your professional world. Is gender a plus or a minus, or is it genuinely a non-issue in your business?
Fill us in with a comment on the blog.
So happy to be receiving your letters again but horrified by the comments about women presidents! My husband and I were talking about that very issue last night and both fear that for various absurd reasons, Kamala’s gender works against her. Hopefully not too much!
But that wasn’t your question … During my many years of working in various fields, I saw gradual improvements but I’d say that retail offered the most equal opportunities. Now my only work is teaching yoga and while for me it is more of a hobby, it has become a real business for many. I believe women do as well as men and that this is generally true across the fitness industry. What do you think?
Makes sense that women would do well in the fitness industry, Linda. On the other hand, Google’s AI tells me that when it comes to personal trainers, men average $54,524 per year, while women bring in $35,945. It seems women have room to grow.
When I worked in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries (this century, BTW), probably 90%-98% of the engineers, tradespeople, managers, execs, and sales people were men. It’s not a hell of a lot better now, unfortunately.
The trades like HVAC, electrical, plumbing, carpentry, dry walling, tile setting, have long been bastions of “male-only” workforces. And although I personally know women in the trades, I think construction managers have a definite bias towards the image of “big strong men” as being the only ones who can ‘do the job’. They’re wrong, but add in the fact that there are so few women in the trades to begin with, their image constantly gets “reinforced.”
You’re probably right about that bias, Larry. That said, I know the owner of my plumbing company has gone out of his way to hire young women. They may not be banging down the door to become journeyman (or journeywoman?) plumbers, but it’s much more lucrative than a lot of more traditional jobs that require college degrees.
Amen sister. I have no words to express my disappointment that this is surely the case. While many are theorizing why VP Harris lost the election and working to place blame on a ton of different factors, I believe that the truth is here in your post. I, too, thought we were so beyond this place and am shocked that we are not. And saddened. I have worked hard for what I have earned and I know that I have not always been compensated like my male counterparts. I worked longer hours, I sacrificed and it didn’t change the structure. I was hoping to pass on a different world to my daughter … I believe that this election has exposed, like the one 8 years ago, that there is so much more work to do.
Yes, Dorothy, now that the election is behind us, I still think gender played a big role in the outcome. My housekeeper told me she voted for Donald Trump because she 11-year-olds shouldn’t be able to change their sex. And she doesn’t think a lady should be president.
Yes, she’s a focus group of one, but it intrigued me that she didn’t base her vote on the price of eggs or some other economic issue. I’m guessing there are a lot of other voters whose real concerns were sex and gender. It’s depressing.