2012 Presidential Election Hot-Button Issue in Iowa - Women's Role in State Politics

During a presidential election year, many hot-button issues erupt. Along with the obvious topics, such as healthcare and taxes, a recent issue being discussed in Iowa is the dismal performance of and acceptance of women in politics in this state. While Iowa may have had the first female attorney, it is one of only two states to never vote a woman into congress or as a governor as discussed in an article by Christina Palladino from ABC-5 News.

The topic of gender inequality resurfaced when Michele Bachman's poor performance in her home state of Iowa sealed her decision to bow out of the 2012 presidential race. I'm thrilled I no longer have to listen to her, but I disliked her political stances, not her gender. In the last presidential election, Hillary Clinton didn't fare as well in Iowa as I expected, either. It may sound archaic, but I wondered then if a woman or an African American would fare better in this state? I'm not saying the whole state is full of the elderly, traditional, racist, or sexist voters than people assume we have. However, there are enough of them cause negative impacts at times to our state government.

In cases where gender bias is real or assumed, many factors must be considered to come up with substantial, valid results. Researchers, political scientists, and journalists who set the stage for discourse on the subject of gender equality have wildly different viewpoints and often come to conclusions on opposite sides of the spectrum.

One side of the argument was discussed in an article by Soraya Chemaly at The Huffington Post . She shared a statistic that the U.S. ranks 40th in the world for electing women to office. She believes Iowa should not be allowed to hold the first caucus when the state seems to have such a small female representation in our government. I understand the concern, but it's not any more democratic to move the caucus when there's no guarantee another state wouldn't have the same or worse biases.

While I would encourage my state to elect more women to political positions, I think further research is needed to prove why the numbers are low. Is it because of the large number of elderly citizens with traditional values, that common argument and/or assumption? Or is it because women don't run as often?

In Paladino's ABC-5 News story, Dianne Bystrom, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University, said " We need to encourage more Iowa women to run, because research shows men and women differ in their political ambition and a woman needs to be asked at least 3 times and be encouraged to run." Bystrom went on to mention that she and a colleague will research media bias to see if and how it played a role in the presidential campaigns of Michele Bachman, Hillary Clinton, and the vice presidential platform of Sarah Palin.

I may just be lucky, but I've only felt a gender bias once when I worked at a Des Moines IT consulting company. It was a "boys' club" type of firm. Women were only invited out for beers when the men remembered we were sitting there and no men were ever asked to run the errands or order lunch. There are worse examples that just irritate me to repeat, so I'll ignore them for now.

Given my experiences in the two Midwest states I've lived in, Iowa and Ohio, I'd have a hard time concluding that this state has enough of a gender bias to keep women out of office. I've lived in small towns and cities in both states, and I've lived near and worked with people with different income levels, occupations, and lifestyles. I know that biases exist against all people at times, so I just hope Iowa can be as inclusive of all people as possible.

Iowa's former Chief Supreme Court Justice is a woman, and she wasn't voted out of the Judicial Branch because of her gender. Along with two male Iowa Supreme Court Justices, she was voted out when enough Iowans decided the Supreme Court's ruling to allow gay marriage in Iowa was against its constitution.