The lack of representation in modern politics
Isabelle Osborne comments on the lack of representation in our roster of political leaders.
As political debate is at the forefront of household discussion in the current climate, I have reflected on our political system and other political systems around the world. In doing so, I thought back to the American Democratic primary election, and how outraged I was by the candidate line-up: Pete Buttigieg, Michael Bloomberg, Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, and Amy Klobuchar. Two things immediately struck me upon switching on the TV. Firstly, that of all the candidates, not one of them was of an ethnic minority background – they were all white. Secondly, standing behind the podiums were four men, and only two women.
America, arguably the most economically, militarily, and politically powerful country in the world, should surely be at the forefront of democracy and fundamental rights, and yet the lack of representation across their political leaders is astounding. Why is politics still dominated by prehistoric ideas about gender, race, and ethnicity?
One suggestion as to why political bodies around the world are dangerously unrepresentative is due to the fact that potential candidates are not running in the first place, rather than it being rooted in the unpopularity or unattractiveness of the under-represented groups. Regarding the lack of female representation in American politics, The Times Editorial Board believe that “traditional family arrangements ... limit women’s career choices. Researchers at the Brookings Institution have found what might be called an ambition gap, with women underestimating their abilities and chances for success. It makes them less likely than men to even consider seeking public office, or to have political professionals encourage them to run.”
This so-called “ambition gap” is indicative of the age-old custom that men deserve higher political status than women. I pose the question: would a male Prime Minister have met with the same discontent and protest that Margaret Thatcher was in her radical acts for mass social change. Simply the title “The Iron Lady” conveys the undermining of women in an attempt to reduce them to below their strong male counterparts.
Another potential explanation for the lack of representation in politics is a result of the toxic media coverage of female politicians, whereby the national press tends to focus upon the woman, rather than the policy. Theresa May suffered countless media attacks in a tireless attempt to undermine her as a politician on account of her gender, such as when the media criticised her dress sense or attributed her coughing fits during speeches to a lack of political strength. Gendered media treatment is enough to put any worthy woman off gaining political status, let alone someone of an underrepresented group.
There may be another, more practical reason as to why American politics in particular continues to be controlled by white men. Following his election in 2016, President Donald Trump introduced several controversial legislative measures that sent a quiver down American society. An example of such controversy was the attack on female reproductive freedom; his removal of Barack Obama’s healthcare law that ensured employers provided female staff with access to contraception, and his attendance at America's largest annual anti-abortion rally were only the beginning. The banning of transgender people from military service and the desire to build “the wall” to reduce immigration are both indicative of Trump’s desire to cleanse America of those he sees as unworthy of holding American status, and to diminish the fundamental rights of certain citizens.
It is worth stressing that Trump was accused by as many as 17 women of sexual assault, despite denying these claims. Rather than acting to empower the unrepresented to enter the political field, this scandal, in keeping with Trump’s presidency as a whole, has arguably projected a severe message through the States and beyond: that certain people’s rights are not important to the country they inhabit. Trump has established a political system that favours the few, and a government that renders women, transgender, and ethnic-minority candidates unwelcome. This not only affects those involved, but it influences the wider community of the States, distilling their perception that politics is a place for rich white men. If we consider how Trump is demolishing that which Barack Obama built – a political foundation for confronting racial inequality through The Obama Coalition of 2012, and affordable contraception under Obama Care – we begin to see how the reign of white men is being perpetuated.
It seems, therefore, that we can draw a connection between gender and political institutions. This isn’t just seen in American politics alone. Johnson, Sturgeon, Starmer, Davey, and Pack - the four major party leaders (or acting leaders, in the case of Davey and Pack), although representative of both sexes, are all white. Merkel of Germany, Macron and Philippe of France, Kurz of Austria, Rutte of The Netherlands; all of the leaders listed who belong to various European countries are white. Whilst this is not reflective of Europe as a whole, it is clear that politics is a field implicated in systemic racism and sexism. If the government is dominated by one particular group, how is this reflective of the entire population? This plays serious detriment to the definition of democracy.
The dark irony of this? These are the people who are responsible for diminishing these toxic perceptions of gender, race and other aspects of identity, and yet the hypocrisy is evident. If politics across the world is dominated by individuals of one sex, one race, one class, legislative measures that are being installed cannot be representative of the changes people want to see in their societies. Whilst the 2020 American leadership race is underway and, regrettably, change is unlikely to see effect, we can only hope that international politics becomes more tuned in to the lack of representation in their governmental bodies.
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