Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Carly Fiorina appeared on their respective presidential debate stages surrounded by men. They represented their gender simply by being there, but their presence as women said much more. It's the first time two women, despite their vast political differences, have been front and center in the same year as presidential candidates.
It's an image that was impossible not to see, but one that’s all too familiar to successful businesswomen who have had no choice but to adapt to being the only woman in rooms filled with men in male dominated professions. Clinton and Fiorina are the products of those kinds of backgrounds.
For years strong women have been viewed as threatening by many men. The psychology of that thinking has been studied, reviewed, and studied again. Strength alone, that attribute viewed as a golden commodity in men, has blunted many a female career. But it seems we’ve reached an important turning point. While Clinton is today's Democratic frontrunner and Fioina is trailing in the Republican race, each woman is being taken seriously by their challengers (Trump aside) and the public, creating a landmark in its own right.
Watching Fiorina at the Republican debates showed a woman who had learned her presentation skills well as she climbed the corporate ladder reaching CEO status at Hewlett-Packard. She knew how to firmly and clearly deliver her thoughts.
But Fiorina’s thoughts regarding women's issues struck a raw nerve with many women and cannot be disregarded. Fiorina stated that paid maternity leave should be left up to the private sector to decide, not the government. Reality check. If businesses had been providing maternity leave all along, there would have been no need for the government to get involved. Her attacks on a woman's right to choose and factually incorrect statements about Planned Parenthood showed a woman who forgot the importance of the word choice for women in the entire matter.
At the first Democratic presidential debate, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came off as a smart, self-assured woman comfortable in her own skin. She has been a strong supporter of women over the years, but it has surprisingly taken her until this point to bring women’s issues to the forefront of her campaign. Family leave and work-life balance now have a formal candidate champion. It’s about time.
The fact that it has taken until 2015-16 to have two women running for president at the same time speaks to the gender bias that has been a part of our political system since our country was founded. We have a long way to go to reach any kind of parity in U. S. politics. Europe has set the bar for strong women in positions of political leadership showcasing British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The 2016 presidential election will test whether the United States is ready to do the same.