P.G. Smith Author

Today is International Women’s Day and in case (like many) you think we should quit harping about women’s rights, let me tell you why the fight isn’t over. Have women made progress in politics in the past say, 100 years? Yes. Enormous progress. But on the other hand, why can’t America manage to elect a woman president?

Two years ago, in 2024 I watched the Democratic convention with such pride. The delegates and speakers were so diverse, it really looked like America. The speeches were uplifting. The candidate was articulate, experienced, and highly qualified. I felt good about my country.

Then the campaign began to tear her apart. Everything was fair game, her hair, her clothes, her laugh, her shoes, her positive campaign. Would a man get scrutinized like that? I watched many interviews that were being conducted with random citizens all across the country, but several especially stuck with me. The men didn’t surprise me, but several women said things like: “Oh, I don’t know if she can stand up to someone like Putin. He’s a sexist, you know. I think we need a man for that.” Lord help us. How can women ever be equals if women themselves don’t think they are? And don’t think I am letting men off the hook here.

Back in the 1980s when women were being blasted by the Reagan backlash against feminism, I clung to the conviction that given all the legal strides that feminists had made, the cultural attitudes would eventually follow. We would evolve. We would grow out of our sexism. Right. Many people felt that way about racism, too. And in many ways attitudes have evolved, but in many ways they haven’t.

In 2016 I was thrilled that Hillary Clinton was running for president against Donald Trump. Like most people, I thought there was no way he could win. He was a joke. He had no qualifications for governing. His campaign was riddled with scandal, fraud, double-dealing, sexual assault. How could anyone, especially any woman, vote for him? And yet they did; but mostly men did.

There is a very fine book that details the factors that combined to defeat Hillary Clinton, despite the fact that she was the most qualified candidate ever, running against the most unqualified candidate ever to run for US President. It is called ‘The Destruction of Hillary Clinton’ by Susan Bordo. One of the things I like best about this book is that it illustrates so clearly how strong the double standard between men and women still is, especially on issues of leadership, and how it permeates all our media outlets.

In 2016 people could vote for Trump just because they didn’t know him and believed what he told them. By 2024 that couldn’t be true. He committed treason on TV. We watched it all live. What really bothered me about the 2024 election was that people preferred to elect a treasonous, convicted felon rather than a woman–even if she was whip smart, articulate, tough, and highly qualified. Any man, no matter how bad, was better than any woman, no matter how qualified. That’s how it looked to me. What can account for that? I will suggest three factors, although there culd be more.

One is sexism, the double standard that never goes away, which I have already outlined and will return to in a moment. (Just one illustration: many people said they voted against Hillary because they just didn’t like her. Later, especially in 2024 when people were asked why they voted for Trump, many said they didn’t personally like him, but you didn’t have to like someone to vote for him.)

A second factor is the outdated American system of electing a president, namely, the electoral college, which is terribly open to manipulation, and should be replaced by direct popular election.

A third is our dysfunctional and counterproductive two-party system, which currently functions like a sporting event. Whatever you do, you must support your team, no matter how bad it is. You don’t switch sides just because the other side has a better team. You must cheer for you own team even louder.

Politics should not work that way. I wish we could all register as independents and get rid of both parties. Just vote for the individuals according to their positions on the issues. But even if we did, we would still be stuck with sexism. Some countries are doing better.

Here is a partial list of countries that now have or have had women Presidents or Prime Ministers: Australia, Britain, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Canada, Argentina, Iceland, Ireland, Bhutan, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Netherlands, Liberia, Guayana, Latvia, Portugal, Norway, Peru, Uganda, South Korea, Surinam, Tanzania, and Venezuela. But not the United States. No. We need a man for that.

By all means, check out ‘The Destruction of Hillary Clinton.’ I cannot do in a little blog what Susan Bordo does in that book. Although she is concentrating on the factors at play in that particular election, the issues she raises are much broader and more enduring. Unfortunately for all of us, the double standard for women, especially in politics and the media are very much with us today. We are all paying a price for it.