As of January 2009, only 16.9% of the 1,142 mayors of U.S. cities with populations over 30,000, were women. (U.S. Conference of Mayors 2009.)

The reasons for this discrepancy in gender representation in the United States are varied:

· Historical: When the United States was founded as a nation, the electoral system was closed to women.

· Traditional: Leadership in politics has been dominated by men and has been regarded as men’s work.

· Organizational: The political and electoral systems tend to be hierarchical and masculine.

· Financial: Many campaign contributors regard political donations as investments, and some may regard women as poor investments. Will they win? That’s why Emily’s List was formed in the 1980s. Women still face a bigger challenge in raising money.

· Psychological: If you ask people (men and women alike) to write down the attributes of a successful leader, their lists will most likely include many of these words:

Boss, captain, chief, chieftain, commander, conductor, controller, dean, dignitary, director, eminence, exec, forerunner, general, governor, guide, herald, lead, notability, notable, officer, pacesetter, pilot, pioneer, precursor, president, principal, rector, ringleader, ruler, shepherd, skipper, superintendent.

*** A Google search for a definition of woman produced these results, attributed to Word Net at Princeton University:

An adult female person (as opposed to a man); example — "the woman kept house while the man hunted," a female person who plays a significant role (wife or mistress or girlfriend) in the life of a particular man; Example —"he was faithful to his woman," “charwoman: a human female employed to do housework;” — "the charwoman will clean the carpet"; "I have a woman who comes in four hours a day while I write," womanhood: women as a class; Example — "it's an insult to American womanhood"; "woman is the glory of creation"; "the fair sex gathered on the veranda." This is found on the Princeton University website!

If you don’t believe me or Google, check it out for yourself: http://wordnet.princeton.edu/

· Stylistic: “Politics is war by other means.” Politics can be a contentious vocation where differences are magnified. While there are exceptions to the rule (or what statisticians call outliers), most women prefer to use conciliation, consensus-building, and relational problem-solving.

· Personal: Personal attacks seem to be the engine driving political campaigns. Could it be that many women are reluctant to run for elective office because they don’t want to subject their families and associates to personal attacks.

· Priorities: Politics today is a 24/7 occupation. Many women do not seem as willing to drop (or step away from) personal and family relationships as many men are.

There is no one reason, and no one solution, to the underrepresentation of women in the American political system. The question I ask myself is: Does it matter and if it does, what difference would it make if half of our elected leaders were women? What do you think?

Resources:

The Center for American Women and Politics Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University

is nationally recognized as the leading source of scholarly research and current data about American women’s political participation. Its mission is to promote greater knowledge and understanding about women's participation in politics and government and to enhance women's influence and leadership in public life.