Gender issues observed in Hirono-Lingle race
By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Washington Bureau
Women have broken many of the stereotypes that have kept them from higher office, but they still face obstacles that most men do not, researchers have found.
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Ten women will compete in governor's races in November, tying a record set in 1994 and matched in 1998. In Hawai'i, the race between Democrat Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono and Republican Linda Lingle marks the second time in U.S. history — and the first since a Nebraska campaign in 1986 — that two women have competed against each other.
This year's governor's race between Democrat Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono, left, and Republican Linda Lingle marks the second time in U.S. history that two women have competed against each other.
Political analysts are closely watching voter attitudes in Hawai'i to determine whether perceptions about candidates change when women are the main choices.
"People are still not used to voting for women," said Barbara Lee, who leads a Cambridge, Mass.-based foundation that studies women in politics.
The Barbara Lee Family Foundation has set up focus groups in Hawai'i to interview voters about their impressions of Hirono and Lingle before and after the election. The foundation published a guide last year for women in governor's races based on 1998 exit polls, focus groups, a national survey and interviews in 10 states, including Hawai'i.
The research found voters often see women candidates as more compassionate and honest than their male counterparts, but they also hold women to higher standards of experience and competence.
As with men, women are rated higher when they have political experience and a demonstrated ability to lead, handle a crisis or manage government finances. But voters do not usually give women the same credit for private-sector experience that they would for men.
The foundation's research has found that older voters, men above the age of 45 or who never attended college, Republicans and married couples in which the wife is a homemaker are more likely to prefer male candidates.
Women who are younger, college educated, Democratic, have children or jobs, and younger Democrats of both genders are more apt to prefer women candidates.
As notions of equality have evolved, women have won more local and state offices and now represent record numbers of seats in Congress. They hold 22.6 percent of state legislative offices and 27.7 percent of state executive offices, according to the Center for American Women in Politics at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J.
Women account for 60 of 435 U.S. House seats, 13.8 percent, and 13 of 100 U.S. Senate seats, 13 percent.
But only 19 women in U.S. history have served as governor — 10 of them since 1990. Today five states have women governors, but three are leaving office at the end of the year.
Political analysts believe more women will win higher office as they rise in the political echelons and build the experience and reputation necessary to compete in statewide or national campaigns. Candidates for president or vice president typically come from the ranks of governors and U.S. senators.
Most of the 10 women running for governor this year have extensive political experience, and gender has not been a dominant theme in their campaigns.
In Hawai'i, both Hirono and Lingle have polish and experience, Hirono as lieutenant governor and Lingle as mayor of Maui County. Lingle built statewide name recognition and organization when she ran for governor and narrowly lost in 1998.
The climate for women candidates has been much better than in the past, said Gilda Morales, a program coordinator for the Center for American Women in Politics. "These are women who are very qualified."
In the Massachusetts governor's race, gender has been a recurring theme. Businessman Mitt Romney, who ran the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, and seriously challenged Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., in a 1994 Senate campaign, proved so popular among Republican voters in public opinion polls that acting Gov. Jane Swift chose not to enter the Republican primary.
As lieutenant governor, Swift was the subject of national debate after she was fined for using aides as baby-sitters and criticized for using a state helicopter to return home to take care of her daughter during the busy Thanksgiving weekend commute. She had twins while serving as Massachusetts' first female governor, and often addressed the subject of balancing work and family.
Gov. Romney chose a woman, party chair Kerry Healey, as his running mate and faces state Treasurer Shannon O'Brien in November.
