Women politicians have a harder time getting elected in states with political machines and/or with high numbers of very religious people.
Why women do well in school, but stumble afterwards. Some advice from Hannah Seligson. She writes, "In my own case, I realized that I needed to develop a thick skin, feel
comfortable promoting myself, learn how to negotiate, stop being a
perfectionist and create a professional network — abilities that men
are just more likely to have already." I have to work on all those things.
How to run against a woman.
Great story of Republicans partying it up with lobbyists at the RNC (video).
Apt. 11d 
The Seligson piece is talking about something that I think is very important. I think the response of first-wave and even some second-wave feminists (including men) to these issues was to argue that either masculinity needed to change, to lose those attributes, or that workplaces and professional life and public affairs needed to be less masculine in those ways.
This approach always bugged me, because there are some good arguments to be made about those attributes (thick skin, comfort with advancing one’s own contributions, ability to stand ground in negotiation, settle for less than perfection, etc.) as being very good things in many life contexts. They can be crippling at other times and junctures, absolutely, when openness, reticience, introspection are called for. But if professional men are more likely to approach professional life on those terms, then seriously, why push for a change? Much of that package works very well in public and professional contexts. The “thick skin” part strikes me as especially important. I know, I know: easier said than done, but a good part of it involves a determination not to be overly bothered by what other people might be thinking or saying. That doesn’t happen naturally: that’s something I have to remind myself to do on an everyday basis. Sometimes you ought to do the opposite, and very much consider the feelings or reactions or thoughts of others, but I think you should do that deliberately, on the occasion, not habitually, in a haunted, perpetual way.
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I’m rotten at all those work skills, especially self promotion. I’ve gotten a thicker skin thanks to blogging. But perfectionism and poor networking are also problems. The article was interesting because the author thought that women haven’t had to develop those skills in school and, in fact, succeed because of perfectionism and determination. School isn’t preparing women for the workplace and may even be setting them up for failure.
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Right. I worry a lot about whether my style of pedagogy, which is largely about encouragement, permissiveness towards alternative ideas and approaches, etc., isn’t precisely part of the problem–maybe a tough, unforgiving, demanding pedagogue does more for many students, especially women?
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Right. I worry a lot about whether my style of pedagogy, which is largely about encouragement, permissiveness towards alternative ideas and approaches, etc., isn’t precisely part of the problem–maybe a tough, unforgiving, demanding pedagogue does more for many students, especially women?
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I just read the Siligson article.
Nice article. “For men, especially if they are thick-skinned, the thought of someone telling them “no” tends not to be viewed as earth-shattering.” This is such a big big one, and it’s something women are not just trained to handle, and for most, it doesn’t come naturally. To ask, and not get, to try, and fail. We need to figure out a way to give such learning experiences in school.
(And, I think Hillary running, and keeping on running, when everyone was telling her to give up was a good role model. I disagreed with some of what she did along the way, but I really admire her for not quitting, and chugging along as long as *she* still believe she was the best person for the job).
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Not to be a crank, but Seligson got fired from her first job, and has been trading on her rather useless book ever since. I think young women, who’ve gone through loony degree programs at expensive grade-inflation schools, have an unusual notion of how to go to work, what’s expected of them, and how to function without constant hairpats.
Women in the real working world–mine is TV production–who’ve developed the useful traits can succeed wildly. But not using the girly skills that worked in Feminist Thaumaturgery 101.
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