Will US Women Ever Be Equal?

(Courtesy of equalrepresentation.org)     Subscribe in a reader

Has anyone noticed that women made NO PROGRESS towards parity in the US Congress in November, an ongoing mega-disgrace for our country no matter who is elected president?

The USA is tied with Kyrgyzstan for #100 in the world for electing women (or #116 if you count all the ties) w/19.4% seats in the 115th Congress, 241 years after independence from the British Empire. Women picked up one more Senate seat (21 total), but one LESS seat in the House (83 total). In the past 14 years (7 election cycles), women have only increased their totals by 3.9%. Should I mention that 13 "Taxation Without Representation States" (26%) send not one woman to Washington! Women are the majority, not a minority -- yet we have little voice where so many critical decisions are made.

Does it matter? Breaking news is that pro-Choice GOP Senators Susan Collins ME and Lisa Murkowski AK will not commit to voting for a bill that aims to dismantle Obamacare if it contains the language to defund Planned Parenthood.

The established benchmark for parity progress is 30%, and so far 51 countries have exceeded that mark -- with 12 in the 40+ range. Some have made the progress because of legal/voluntary quotas, like Rwanda (63.8%) and Bolivia (53.1%). But Iceland at 48% is the most equal country in the world without the benefit of government electoral programs. We in the USA don't believe in quotas, we are told... or even support an "Every Open Seat a Woman's Seat"* strategy, lip service notwithstanding.

Why aren't more women elected? Is it really just because women face double standards and voters who won't elect women, or don't have as many connections as men? Aren't we sick of those tired excuses doled out year-after-year by the political experts? Clearly a number of women have overcome the obvious liabilities -- but not enough have been able to crack the male dominance of the Democratic and Republican parties, which have NEVER embarked on real campaigns to promote/fund/elect more women to Congress towards parity and where men clearly control who will be promoted into open seats. Yet, women continue to kowtow to party bosses and write big checks to them no matter what!

And what exactly do women who are elected by women's votes do to help after they are elected and advance up the ladder, besides disparage women of the opposite party every chance they get? Shouldn't our women political leaders also be held accountable? Women are repeatedly our own worst enemies -- just ask Hillary Clinton, whose election to the presidency would have been transformative for women of all ages and political beliefs.

But even electing a woman president isn't enough. We need equal representation in Congress to finally ensure equality for women. We are all in this together...and liberal women suddenly find themselves depending on 2 GOP woman senators to save the day. Think about it.

*If women had been positioned by either party with adequate financial backing in all 50 OPEN seat races and only half (25) had won instead of 8, there would be 100 women in the House or 23%!

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