AHC: More women on major party tickets

[Doctorin' Ithaca]

No woman was chosen for a major party ticket until 1984 and it was 24 years between Geraldine Ferraro and Sarah Palin and no woman has been chosen in 2012.

In a country such as the USA where the majority of the population is female, many women have been very upset at what they perceive as ingrained sexism.

So how can we change that?

 

[LostCosmonaut]

It would probably help to get women's suffrage passed earlier (such as in the 19th century), which would give women more time to get entrenched in the political structures.

 

[d32123]

It's not just presidential tickets that are devoid of women.

The United States Senate is only 17% female.
The United States House of Representatives is 16.6% female.

We are #79 in the world in terms of women represented in politics:

http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm

Look at that list and see if there's a trend with which nations are ranked above us. I'm trying to find one.

The only nation where women are overrepresented in parliament is Rwanda.

 

[DTF955Baseballfan]

Had i had the time in "Created Equal" something like that could have happened; as it was I mention womens' suffrage occurring by 1876.

One of the problems with a POD after 1900 is that the media doesn't have any women to prominently feature and extoll the virtues of.

Margaret Chase Smith becoming mroe prominent could work, the only problem is that upon checking I realize she was born in 1897. (I was thinking about 1910 for her) Unless she somehow becomes more prominent in the '60s...and even then it's tough. You'd probably have to go back to the '50s. Perhaps she gets more credit for stemming McCarthyism, and a spot opens up in Ike's cabinet? That might inspire more media focus on her with more women then thinking, "I can do that, too."

She's still a little old for a ticket in '68, though not by much, Nixon could still pick her I suppose. And there *might* be more by the '70s who have a chance.

Another thought - could Amelia Earhardt's survival lead to her entering politics? Only problem is, she's only about 5 months older than Smith. Still, she's a very noteworthy woman who, if she were to decide her country needed her leadership in Congress after her circumnavigation, could cause people to trumpet her being a pioneer of politics just as she hd been of the air. Perhaps she's seen as having growing influence in the '40s and '50s supporting Civil Rights (being born in Kansas where Brown v. Board of Education originated might help get her some air time), and she leads a growing number of females into Congress and onto national tickets by the '70s?

Of course, the challenge isn't the earliest but just to have more, but I do think you need a pioneer who can be recognized nationally so that others see her and are inspired to follow. The more people who follow such a role moel, the more chance there is to have them on national tickets and in Congress and the Senate in general.

 

[Petike]

Next time, at least write down which country you mean. Despite the cliché, not all of us live in the US or think primarily of US politics.

 

[NCW8]

It would probably help to get women's suffrage passed earlier (such as in the 19th century), which would give women more time to get entrenched in the political structures.

I'm not sure that's really a factor. To take an extreme example, Switzerland only gave women the right to vote in federal elections in 1971. Their first female president was elected in 1998.

Cheers,
Nigel.

 

[jack_donaghy_is_the_shado]

As I recall, the Democrats were constantly asking Eleanor to run for office, like Governor of New York or Truman's running mate in '48.

in '72, Shirley Chisholm won three primaries and won 152 delegate votes. Humphrey released his black delegates to her, and there may have been a possibility that Wallace may have supported her after she visited him in the hospital. From what I've read she was not considered as a running mate.

But, Francis Franethold http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Farenthold, actually came in second to Eagleton

And Carter was supposedly pondering the idea of Barbara Jordan as his veep/

 

[NKVD]

in '72, Shirley Chisholm won three primaries and won 152 delegate votes. Humphrey released his black delegates to her, and there may have been a possibility that Wallace may have supported her after she visited him in the hospital. From what I've read she was not considered as a running mate.

Wallace, as in George Wallace?

Anyways...

Perhaps if you somehow butterfly away the red scares. This way, by the late 20th Century you could have a lot more sympathy for the kinds of social welfare programs that have helped women in the Nordic countries (which have some of the highest numbers of female politicians) acquire the independence to participate in politics.

Also, avoiding WWII somehow might help.

 

[jack_donaghy_is_the_shado]

like I said, "may have been".

And according to wikipedia: "Chisholm created controversy when she visited rival and ideological opposite George Wallace in the hospital soon after his shooting in May 1972, during the 1972 presidential primary campaign. Several years later, when Chisholm worked on a bill to give domestic workers the right to a minimum wage, Wallace helped gain votes of enough Southern congressmen to push the legislation through the House."