Kamala Harris and why the US still has a problem with the idea of a woman president
The American presidency remains a role which many voters associate with stereotypically ‘male’ characteristics such as power, strength and assertiveness.
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A “childless cat lady”. “Crazy”. “Dumb as a rock”. Those are just some of the insults that have been directed at Kamala Harris since she announced her intention to gain the Democratic nomination for president.
Harris, now the presumptive Democratic nominee, would only be the second woman to gain a major party’s nomination for president of the United States. The first woman in this position, Hillary Clinton, was labelled a “nasty woman” by her opponent Donald Trump in 2016.
If Germany, Serbia, Peru, Barbados, Iceland and Samoa can elect women as leaders, and a third of United Nations member countries overall, why is it still an issue in the United States? And if a woman can be vice president in the US, surely she could also be president? After many other countries have elected women leaders, is the US really not ready for a woman president?
Last week, YouGov data sparked conversations about the US’s “woman problem” again. While more than half the respondents (54%) said the US was ready to elect a woman as president, this number is down from 2015. During the first month of Hillary Clinton’s campaign for the Democratic nomination, 63% said the country was ready to elect a woman to its highest office.
That Americans are feeling less confident...
