What happens when an identity group gains representation in government?
Letting Down the Ladder or Shutting the Door: Female Prime Ministers, Party Leaders, and Cabinet Members and What do Women Symbolize? Symbolic representation and cabinet appointments discuss the role of women in a country’s government. More specifically, they analyze how heads of state appoint women to their cabinet and what that represents. The authors of both articles consider how appointing women symbolizes a leader’s stance on gender equality. As a result, the former work asks how likely female heads of state are to appoint women to their cabinet and how political affiliation affects cabinet appointments. The authors present several hypotheses which they test in order to understand the role of women in cabinets.
As I reflect on the readings, I consider how women are underrepresented in American politics. I think about all of the superlatives which show how women do not have the same opportunities as men. Also, Letting Down the Ladder or Shutting the Door posits that women make female cabinet appointments at a rate less than their male counterparts. What does that say about the immediate future? Are female heads of state motivated to appoint women at a lesser rate? If I could write another research article, I would explore the age and gender dynamics of American politics. One thing I discovered in researching affirmative action is that minorities make up a tiny proportion of the coaching positions in football which are considered a pathway to head coaching. American politics faces a similar scenario. Due to the underrepresentation of women, I imagine that women make up a small percentage of the offices which are considered a pathway to cabinet positions.
So, what happens after identity groups gain representation in government? This is an impossible question to answer because how does one understand what is meant by “representation in government”. There are over five hundred congressmen. If an individual from an identity group was elected to congress and became the only congressman from that group, would that be considered an adequate gain by this question. In that case, I find it hard to believe that the election of this representative would lead to new legislative movements. Their policy positions would be heard but it seems unlikely that the individual would have a significant impact on votes.
Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) are the only muslim women in congress. Last summer, President Trump described the two representatives as coming from “totally broken and crime-infested places”. Despite opposition Omar and Tlaib condemning Trump's language and opinion, many of their colleagues did not condemn the President’s language. This incident demonstrates how representation does not correlate with change. Although identity groups can “gain” representation, who knows if anyone will actually adhere to their opinions. It is reality that the word “gain” is key. If there is a substantial increase in representation from an identity group, then their views will prevail. This is the case of white men in the United States. Their representation dominates the demographics of the Senate and the current President’s cabinet. When an identity group gains representation in government, it is impossible to know what will happen without quantifying the gain.
You are right that the pathway to power is important. That is why there is a lot of focus right now on down ballot races and getting quality candidates to enter those races in order to build a group that can eventually progress to Congress. Your point about the two Congresswomen is also right --- that the introduction of a very small minority group being represented might engender a larger backlash effect by the dominant group than it will actually benefit the non-dominant group. However, that puts the non-dominant group into a bind trying to figure out how to gain representation without generating backlash.
ReplyDeleteI like your example of the muslim congresswomen, it is certainly interesting to consider how this idea plays out in American politics. I also found it interesting that the authors note that the specific type of democracy matters. If female leaders are at more risk of being removed, they are less likely to appoint women to cabinet positions. This seems to support the notion that men are very much entrenched in the power structure, and women are not. There are certain expectations about who should be a government official. Nice work synthesizing this research!
ReplyDeleteYour discussion on what exactly constitutes representation in politics is interesting, and something I was also curious about when reading the two articles. I wonder if representation can even be fully assessed by looking at the composition of a political body? As you explain in your concluding paragraph, it is important to analyze the dynamics of how candidates are able to achieve power and the perception they are assigned once they attain power. If female politicians are elected to leadership positions but the overall rate of females in politics decreases- I find it problematic to say that gender is represented. Further, if certain ethnicities are represented partially but still face a systematic barrier from key positions- it is also evident that representation is not equitable. Great work!
ReplyDeletePeter, great connection to your research article. You make a good point about the under-hiring of minorities and that it most certainly needs to change.
ReplyDeletePeter, women are currently more represented in the American politics, but probably due to the recent culture, they still didn't play enough role within the government. Do you think the current situation can change? There are also voices for minorities like LGBTQ, which in the public's understanding, isn't many people in population. More representation may make it unfair to larger groups, but less may affect their right to speak up in government. How much representation do you think those groups should have?
ReplyDeletePeter- I think the way you compare similarity in minorities and sport coaching to women in government is an important recognition that can be generalized to encompass any marginalized group's power. Although equal representation is not fully acheived, I think we as a society have made great strides in recognizing and working towards more equal representation.
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