Newswise — Lynn Sanders, a professor of politics at the University of Virginia offers the following take on the Republican Party's nomination of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to become vice president:
Without speculating about whether John McCain can actually succeed in convincing anyone that he's less sexist than the Democrats, or getting into a debate about Sarah Palin's quasi-feminist credentials, Palin's presence on the Republican ticket gives feminists at least six good reasons to celebrate.
1. When it comes to breaking the glass ceiling, any woman is as good as a real feminist.
Seriously. Numerous studies, from the Israeli military to the California savings and loan industry to blue-collar and clerical jobs to law school faculties, have shown that the fewer women in a particular role, the harder the path for women who want to break in.
Women who aspire to male-dominated positions face harsher evaluations and enjoy lower chances of promotion compared to men than they do when they seek positions where women are already more than a token minority. When a job is male-dominated, both women and men seem unconsciously to consider maleness a prerequisite. As a consequence, we overrate men and underrate women who are otherwise equally qualified. When women become at least a sizable minority in a given position, they fare better: then they are judged less on their gender and more on their qualifications.
A woman doesn't have to be a feminist to help pave the way for her sisters and daughters. In this narrow regard at least, one woman is as good as another.
2. The parties are on the verge of a "who's less sexist" contest.
On Wednesday night, to the cheers of Republican social conservatives, Rudy Giuliani castigated Democrats for daring to ask whether Sarah Palin's family responsibilities are too heavy for a vice president. Not to be outdone, Thursday morning Joe Biden appeared on Good Morning America to denounce the Palin attacks as "over the top" and "sexist." Complaints about the media's treatment of Hillary Clinton are no longer dismissed as feminist whining but are now Republican talking points. Presumably John McCain has told his last sexist joke (at least in public).
3. The new partisan contest to be anti-sexist will fast-forward the nation's gradual progress in recognizing and censuring sexism in politics.
Campaigns that get close to racial insinuations, like Bob Coker's ad against Harold Ford in Tennessee in 2006, can expect immediate scrutiny and criticism. Partisans and media critics may one day be as sharply alert to sexist politics as they are to attempts by national campaigns to mobilize white racial resentment.
4. Palin's gun-packing, hockey-playing biography explodes gender stereotypes.
5. A complicated quasi-feminist like Palin undercuts ignorant mythologizing about the "women's vote" and oversimplifications about the "gender gap."
6. Having a woman who really juggles work and family responsibilities will push pro-lifers to address the challenges involved, and discuss family-friendly policies like paid leave and affordable health care.
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