Women in Politics are Role Models!

For the past few weeks I have been living at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and have been taking a political science class there over winter break.  That is one of the awesome things about Wellesley; that we can cross-register with a ton of other local colleges and experience other learning environments.  MIT, Babson, Olin and Brandeis are the easiest to cross register with because they are considered our “brother” schools, but some friends have taken classes at Harvard too.  Though I think Wellesley classes are still my favorite, I love being so close to Boston where there are so many colleges and other students I can meet . Some of my best friends go to MIT and Harvard.

But I am getting away from what I wanted to post today!

I wanted to share with everyone this recent, fascinating study that posits that women politicians are especially influential as role models to young women.

Over 8,000 Indian adolescents and parents were surveyed in West Bengal, India, where one-third of prahan positions are reserved for women .  The study discovered that women who became heads of their prahan, or leader of a village council, serve as role models which helps to raise the “career aspirations and educational performance” of young women.    Esther Duflo, an MIT professor who headed the study says that “seeing women in charge persuaded parents and teens that women can run things, and increased their ambitions.”  This had the effect of erasing the gender gap that usually works in favor of men.

Click here for the full report.  This is the news article from MIT about the study.

Graphic: Christine Daniloff

I think this goes along really well the idea of mentoring I mentioned earlier.  If young women have someone they can look up to–who guides her and lets her know about the opportunities available to her–she is more likely to not fear the gender gap.  Though this report looks at India, I think the same concept can be applied to the U.S.  I actually have written about this in class: once more women become involved in politics, young women will start to see this as a norm and not an exception.  Women, today, often think they are not qualified for office because they do not see many women running, and they frequently decide to not run simply because they are afraid it is only a man’s job.  But if young women see women role models in office and gain confidence in their qualifications, it will be a snowball effect of more women deciding to run. I hope that women see this study, take it seriously, and try to be more involved in politics!

P.S. What are your thoughts on women politicians as role models?  When I think to our country’s women politicians, many pop into mind (Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright from Wellesley!!!) who are role models to me.  However, I wouldn’t consider all current women politicians as my role models.  What do women in politics need to convey to young women to be positive role models?