With women making up 56 percent of the United States population, the gender gap has become less of a gap in recent years in many fields such as engineering, science and technology. With all these advancements, one would think that the same amount of progress could be seen in politics. However, specifically in American politics, the amount of progress does not translate well.
In the United States, women are still suffering from the lack of representation in politics. According to the organization, The Catalyst, women currently hold 83 out of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives, which is 19.1 percent.
In the U.S. Senate, there are currently 21 female senators serving in the 115th Congress (21 percent). Previously, in the 113th congress, only 20 female senators served. The numbers have increased over the years, but only slightly.
As reported by CNN, the United States is ranked behind 22 other countries for lagging in gender equality. Fully grasping that one of the number one nations in the world is ranked 23rd in gender gap, should scare the American people. With a bigger gender gap in politics means more decisions made without women’s input.
It is vital for a greater representation of women in politics. With a large majority of members being male, it is hard to imagine most issues that concern women are being decided by a predominantly male congress. While discussing issues and framing future laws on essential topics, such as abortion, it seems only pivotal to incorporate women’s perspectives.
Susan Heitler Ph.D. of “Psychology Today” said, “Men rush for the finish line. Women explore, communicating about various underlying concerns.”
Although current congresswomen continue to share their outlook on these controversial issues, the modern-day representation is not enough to combat the 80.9 percent of congressmen who may or may not share the same views as women. It is important to recognize the few congressmen who can truly identify and share the same outlook as women on these topics. Men and women are equal. The statistics however, do not show this.
To put into perspective, out of the total 535 legislators, only 104 are women, roughly 19 percent in all. 104 females versus 431 males does not embody gender equality.
Due to representatives and senators are elected officials, the solution is more ambiguous. The simple way to pinpoint a solution would be to say that women are not running for office as much as they should be. There is more to the story. Unfortunately, in present-day politics, running for Congress requires a substantial amount of money. Winning office means advertising, and advertising is not cheap. When the past 20+ decades of Congress have been predominantly run by male members, their financial standings tend to increase with every year they continue to serve, making it harder for women to get a foot in the heavy, bolted door of U.S. politics.
Women pursue politics to make a difference in the community or nation. Women should never let the unequal gender gap block their pursuance in a political career if they truly want to make a change. They should be heard because it is only fair. Women do currently make up 56 percent of this country.
