2008 - A Woman President?

2008 – A Woman President?

By Tim Holland

Could this be the year the United States joins the modern political era and elects a woman to be the chief executive of the country? Of course it depends on the woman but we are certainly over due. The mere fact that this is the first time we have had a viable female candidate puts us way behind what has been going on throughout the rest of the world.

Hillary Clinton, should she be successful, would be at the back end of a long list of women who have been running large, small, medium sized, industrialized, emerging, rich and poor nations since the end of World War II.

How far behind are we? Most people can name the United Kingdom and Pakistan as countries that have had women leaders but the number is actually up to 51. Yes, 51 countries around the world are way ahead of us when it comes to electing the best person rather than the best man.

What is particularly interesting when researching the topic, is reviewing the professional biographies of the women involved: all of them have paid their dues many times over. They have been elected time and time again by their constituents and have served in multiple leadership posts in numerous government administrations. They are Muslim, Catholic, Jewish, Hindu, Protestant; they are married, single, mothers and childless. They are very good.

It was also very interesting to see how many of them came to power during times of stress and looked to as coalition builders and a unifying force. The one overriding quality they brought to their countries was leadership.

So why is it taking so long for the United States to elect a woman to the Presidency? It’s an interesting question and it may have to do with the way our government structure has evolved. What we have today is not what the founding fathers originally envisioned. Keep in mind that the original concept called for the “People’s House” to be dominant. It was originally conceived as the legislative body that would elect the members of the “Upper House” (Senate) and the two houses combined would elect the President. That was adjusted through a series of compromises but the over riding concept looked to the British parliamentary system as its model with the King replaced by an elected rather than hereditary President. The House of Lords would be the Senate but under the control of the People’s House.

It is no coincidence that the first female national leaders emerged under the parliamentary form of government where they were elected to leadership positions by the elected members of their own party rather than through a general election. However, that has since changed as women are now winning national elections where they exist, although the parliamentary system of government still dominates:

Breakdown of Countries Who Have Been or are Now Led by Women:

Countries with Prime Minister and or President = 51

Countries that have had Prime Minister = 32

Countries that have had President = 27

Countries with only Prime Minister = 25

Countries with only President = 19

Countries that have had both = 7

Admittedly, under a parliamentary form a government, the Prime Minister of the United States would be Nancy Pelosi and the Republicans would have been voted out after Bush’s first term, just as the Democrats would have been after Bill Clinton’s first term. Truthfully though, such a scenario is much too simplistic, as I don’t believe either Messrs Bush or Clinton would have been able to rise to significant leadership positions in the House.

Looking forward, if Hillary Clinton does not become the first woman to achieve the Presidency in the United States, from where will the first, or even the second, woman appear? What will be her base, her launching platform?

As we have seen in other countries, the women leaders all have long leadership biographies. What seems to be the true launching pad is the position of a cabinet minister: Ministers of Labor, Communications, Health, Finance, Environment, State, Defense, and so on. Our problem in the United States is that cabinet members are more likely to be appointees without election resumes and no taste for election campaigning and that committee leadership positions in the legislature are based on seniority, which tends to keep young, innovative members out of the spotlight.

So if it is not to be Hillary Clinton this time around, then I would look to the Governor’s mansion as the next best hope, as it is extremely rare for young, dynamic leadership to emerge from a seniority system.

There is a lot to be said for a Parliamentary system that has only elected officials as cabinet secretaries in that voters have the ultimate say in who gets to stay on as Secretary of the Treasury, or Defense, or State, or Homeland Security, or Environmental Protection. The United States does not only need the office of President to become gender neutral but also it could be that the entire way that the government is structured needs another look.

Note:

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