Expert Urges Women to Seek Larger Political Role

With the presidential election still up for grabs, pundits argue which voter demographic will swing the election results one way or another. Many believe women voters will play a key role in the outcome, possibly pushing the balance to either Bush or Kerry.

Both candidates are making plays for the female vote, but Nancy McGlen, an expert in women's election issues, said that female voting behavior is difficult to predict in an election where few women's issues are taking center stage.

"Issues this year are not benefiting women," said McGlen, dean of Niagara University's College of Arts and Sciences. "Terrorism and foreign policy dominate this election in states where jobs or local economy normally are important women's issues."

McGlen spoke to a small crowd of mostly professionals and community members Friday at UB's Center for the Arts.

McGlen said while women as a whole tend to vote with the Democratic Party, the current election has somewhat split the female demographic.

"Many women this year - white women, evangelical women - will vote for Bush," she said. "Kerry would need 54 percent of the woman vote to have the advantage this year."

While this year's presidential election is important on a national scale, McGlen said women will have a much larger political impact in congressional races.

"There are a record number of women running for public office, and most of these women are Democrats, though there are many Republicans," she said. "The prospects for gains, however, are not particularly large."

Although many women are running for office now, McGlen said the situations they're in are not conducive to a large number of newly elected women gaining office, especially when compared to previous years. In 1992, which McGlen termed "The Year of the Woman," there were an unprecedented number of women who gained public office.

"Many of the women running this year are running against incumbents - races where the challengers have almost no chance," she said. "And of the eighteen running for open seats, six women are running against each other. My best guess is that we'll stay even in our numbers."

McGlen said because of these situations, the rate of change of women gaining public office has stagnated since the 1992, when the number of women in the House of Representatives doubled, and the number in the Senate tripled.

"At the rate of change we are at now, it will take 50 years to match men at the state legislature level, 70 years in the House, and 120 years in the Senate," she said. "The view is and constantly has been that politics is a man's game."

McGlen also lamented the lack of interest of young women in politics.

"Surveys of college freshmen show women are statistically less likely stay up to date with political affairs," she said. "Maybe this year is different, but no, women are not as attentive as men to the election."

McGlen cited a recent survey saying 42 percent of young men said they are following this election closely, where only 29 percent of young women said the same.

McGlen said the disparity is partly because it is an election where force is an issue, but the idea that politics is a "man's game" continues to hold women back.

"Women are much more likely to think their vote won't count," she said.

McGlen was not all critical of women's involvement in politics, citing their increased interest in volunteer activities and in politics on a community level.

"Women are leading the charge in communities," she said. "Young women outpace men in volunteering and activity at a personal and community level. (But) when partisan politics are involved, women are less likely to pay attention."

McGlen added it is necessary for young women to take action on a larger political scale to get women's issues to the forefront. She said that women need to realize that partisan politics are important to their lives and that community service is important.

But in order to change policy, women need to put importance on larger scale politics.

"As a dean I get to change policy that affects a whole bunch of students, many more than at the one-on-one level," she said. "That was a big allure to me. We need to get more women in public office to do the same."