Gender Politics and the inequality faced by women in America and around the world

In what should have been front-page news on Mother’s Day, a recent report by the non-profit 501(c) (3) organization, Save the Children, found that the health and welfare of mothers and children in the United States is significantly lower than other developed countries.

The report, State of the World's Mothers 2010, by Save the Children explores in detail the current social and political conditions women face in over 173 countries around the world and brings up the interesting topics of gender politics, the political economy, and international relations that warrants further discussion.

The report by Save the Children mirrors other reports and studies on gender politics by intergovernmental organizations such as the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) report, Doing Better for Children, and World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2009. These reports document the ever-deteriorating level of health, educational and economic opportunities for women living in the world’s richest country.

The State of the World’s Mothers report by Save the Children and other publications by non-profit and intergovernmental organizations, are painting a familiar picture of women in the world’s richest economy enjoying a significant lower standard of living than women living in less wealthier economies. The data from these reports support the argument that the level of political participation by the overall American population, in combination with the amount of corruption in the political system, has contributed to an unequal distribution of wealth and social welfare protections for women living in America. Some examples of the unequal and distorted social welfare priorities of American political leaders include the quick passage of 2008 TARP financial rescue package and the numerous defense supplemental funding bills for the military occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, while the passage of the recent health care bill took over a year.

Although the quick passage of these legislative bills were due in large part to the amount of monetary influence the members in these institutions were able to contribute to the politicians responsible for passing the legislation and dispersing the funds, the variable of gender politics and the predominant male composition of these institutions should not be ignored.

As documented in another gender politics analysis, the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2009, ranks the United States 31st in the world for dividing its resources and opportunities among the male and female population. This ranking closely matches the ranking of 28th, the United States earns in the Save the Children report. Although the United States ranks very high in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Index report in the educational attainment for women, this high ranking is not reflective in the level of economic participation and opportunity women in America enjoy. Canada however, while having the same amount of educational attainment for its female population, ranks as the 10th highest country in the economic participation category. From a regional perspective, Canada has become the country to set the standard for the United States to follow.

Although women in America make up for nearly half the population, this ratio is not reflected in the political process. Perhaps deceived by the leadership roles held by women in American politics over the last several years, such as several women serving as Secretary of State, (Albright, Rice, and Clinton) and the current position of Nancy Pelosi as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, these high profile positions, do not reflect the proportion of women in the American population.

The chauvinistic and patronizing attitude towards women in the political process, is evident with women often getting cabinet level posts in the Department of Environmental Protection and the State Department, while the cabinet posts of Secretary of Defense and Treasury are regulated to men who have proven less than capable of handling the positions. One only has to look at the decisions made by the previous Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his handling of the invasion and occupation of Iraq to the performance of Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson, in the years leading up to the Great Recession of 2008. This is one of the reasons why the United States ranks closer to the less developed economies in the report by Save the Children and does not even break the top twenty in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index of 2009.

The political rhetoric of social conservative Republican Party candidates who espouse their support for family values and Democratic Party candidates, who proclaim their support for labor, does not translate into legislation protecting maternity and childbearing women in the American labor market.

The prospect for members of the American political establishment, who are increasingly wealthier every year, to pass legislation protecting women in the American workforce, appears to be unlikely. With Senators having a median reportable net worth of $1.79 million in 2008, and a House of Representatives median net worth of $645,503 in 2008, the political establishment in America is increasingly out of touch with the average hard working American. This is evident with the fact that while only one percent of Americans are considered millionaires, 44 percent of members of Congress were in that category.

Of the 50 wealthiest members of Congress, almost identical to the 20 percent ratio of women in the United States Congress, only 18 percent of wealthiest members of Congress were women.