When Hillary Clinton received the nomination, becoming the first female contender for the President of the United States of America. It got me thinking, can Mrs. Clinton is a great woman leader of this great country just like her husband, Bill, or is she just the same as those who have preceded her as President of the United States? No-one will know how will Mrs. Clinton would lead this country for the next four to eight years? As they say by political analyst and pundits, "time will tell," and sure they can right on that part. However, let's not forget that a women instincts of leadership are slightly better than men, because they experienced many things that are slightly different from us men. It is imperative to consider the experiences unique to women by virtue of their gender, and how they may impact their navigation of the political world. In my opinion, having a woman in a leadership position has its benefits, but at the same time they face a stiff opposition because of their gender.
As a man of a Filipino heritage, I have witnessed and lived an era of where we had not only our first female president and a second female President of the Republic of the Philippines. When I was in high school participating California YMCA Youth and Government, I have also witnessed an historic event for the first time in a decade in the Youth and Government program a female is elected in the position of Youth Governor of the State of California. There are also many countries that had already witnessed having a woman in high leadership position, we can look into the first female Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard MP, Ontario's first female Premier Kathleen Wynee or Canada's first Prime Minister Kim Campbell, QC PC MP, as an example of obtaining the position of high office as a woman. These women had made an impact to their country that people of all genders can obtain a high position not just in government but in both sectors of education and business. Even though, women obtained the position of high office in Parliament or the Presidency. Women are still discriminated against and have disadvantaged roles in government because of their gender. You can rarely see a woman being placed at a high profile ministerial or cabinet position because of their perceived lack of experience of the job that is assigned to them. However, this argument has been rebuked by many people on the grounds of women can perform the same job as men would do as cabinet ministers or secretaries. At the core of this argument, there is a patriarchal perception that women are docile, submissive and temperamentally unaccustomed to leadership roles in both public and private spheres. The justification behind this blatant and misogynistic ideation that many women are inexperienced when it comes to political leadership roles. It's like saying you want to land an entry level job, yet the Human Resources department rejects you because of a lack of experience--leaving one to question: "How can one gain experience without first having the job?"
As I was writing this article along the way, it got me thinking of a video from the CBC that I was watching just a few days ago. The title of the video was, "The Meaning of Hillary." in other words, Canada's female premiers and sexism in politics. This title resonates how gender politics has becoming more pervasive and volatile, less women are running for a federal and state positions of government because of their gender and the domination of men in the political process in the United States and the rest of the world. Statistics shows that there are forty countries that have women elected (does not include appointed or interim) in the higher position in government. However, out of forty countries there are only eleven countries that they re-elect their female heads of states or governments. There are only five to six countries that have a second female becoming the Prime Minister or the President, which includes the Philippines. Premier Christy Clark, Premier of British Columbia, said it at best that women are the boss in their political caucus especially the cabinet, which means that Hillary Clinton has the authority of her cabinet as she governs the United States.
But why has it taken them 188 years, 15 Democrat presidents and 46 Democratic National Conventions to nominate a woman to be the standard bearer and leader of the long established Federal party of Kennedy, Jefferson, Wilson, Roosevelt and Bill Clinton? The only answer to that question is that it's finally time for the progressive and liberal branch of the Democratic Party to bring Hillary Clinton as the candidate for the Presidency of the United States. I believe that we are ready to have a first woman to lead this country as the 45th President of the United States of America!
Susan B Anthony, one of the leaders of the first feminist movement in the United States, said it at best to describe of how women will change the world, “"The day will come when men will recognize woman as his peer, not only at the fireside, but in councils of the nation. Then, and not until then, will there be the perfect comradeship, the ideal union between the sexes that shall result in the highest development of the race." It shows that they are ready to take on the challenges that is facing them as a leader of their respective nations.
As I state in the beginning, we have witnessed a historic day when we can proudly say as an American that we have our first women to be nominated in the old established Democratic Party to be the candidate for the Presidency of the United States. Can she be a different leader as a President of the United States or is she going to be the same leader as her male predecessors have done in the past? Maybe. However, it will be up to them on how will they carry their country whether in their in a turbulent or a peaceful situation. It will benefit us in the near future.
