Unlike Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign for President, her 2016 bid will play up her woman candidature and focus on gender and family issues, writes VIDISHA MISHRA
On April 12, Ms Hillary Rodham Clinton, former US Secretary of State and former US First lady, announced that she will be running for President, again. Her announcement video said that, “everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion.” The video features many ‘everyday' women of varied ages and ethnicities, and makes ‘families’ a central theme. This is a clear indication that Ms Clinton will focus on issues that she ignored in 2008, when she ran for President for the first time.
Then, her campaign struggled to address the matter of her gender in a balanced manner. She seemed conflicted between acknowledging her identity as a woman running for the most important office in the world and establishing herself as a competent politician, irrespective of her gender. In 2008, her gender was considered a disadvantage by her advisors. It was believed that voters wouldn't put their faith in a “mama in the White House”. Since then, however, Ms Clinton has repeatedly referred to the election of a female US President as the “highest and hardest glass ceiling”, and her own potential to break it will most likely be central to her 2016 presidential campaign.
For much of 2014, Clinton spoke about women's empowerment, not shying away from addressing the double standards for women in politics. She has shared personal anecdotes of times when she felt she was unfairly undermined by male colleagues. Moreover, Ms Clinton has been consistently addressing issues like gender-based discrimination at the workplace, equal pay, abortion rights, paid family leave, child care and the role of women in society. This is a significantly different campaign preview for 2016.
During her previous White House bid, Ms Clinton's campaign focussed on her professional credentials while her identity as a woman was deliberately underplayed. It was believed that voters wanted someone ‘tough’ to lead the free world. The decision to ‘un-gender' Ms Clinton's 2008 campaign was as a classic example of the belief that women must appear more like men to seem suitable for high political offices. In retrospect, this was a missed opportunity, as Mr Barack Obama quickly emerged as the icon of new-age politics and scripted history by becoming America’s first Black President.
Today, the idea of dissociating women (and especially women with families) from ‘serious work’ seems outdated which in turn signifies a larger transformation in American politics. Over the last few years, there has been greater focus on gender issues and women voters. This is likely to aid Ms Clinton (or any other woman candidate for that matter), in battling unfair sexist criticism. Also, heightened gender sensitisation is likely to result in greater support for candidates who stand up for issues like equal pay and child care. Issues like maintaining a work-family life balance, which would have been neglected a decade ago, are now being addressed by all politicians across party lines.
The shift in perception can be partly credited to the emergence of feminist media which has created a hospitable environment for gender-sensitive policies. For example, at the 2014 Summit on Working Families, President Obama made a landmark statement that “there's no such thing as a women's issue.” He said that inadequate/expensive child day care, the lack of paid family leave and the gender wage differential are societal issues and not just gender issues.
Importantly, this perception change has also been followed by a change in demographics — more women are voting than men, and there are higher numbers of unmarried women, working women and women heading big corporations. There is also greater sensitisation in the news and popular media to detect and condemn misogyny. For example, careless comments by politicians on the rape and abortion have not gone unnoticed and hurt their popularity. So much so that even some Republican leaders, such as North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, are now supporting the sale of over-the-counter contraception.
As for Ms Clinton, she continues to polarize opinions; however, it is a positive sign that she does not have to underplay her gender anymore in order to be seen as a serious contender for President. At the first Watermark’s Silicon Valley Conference for Women in California in February, Ms Clinton said that gender equality is not just a politically correct statement anymore, but is significant in ensuring a country's economic, cultural and democratic progress. At the same event she also said that women need not succumb to the barriers of gender stereotyping, and must embrace leadership. She also cheekily added “You don't have to run for office… but if you do, more power to you.” As she runs for office now, Ms Clinton will be campaigning as herself — a strong leader, a competent, even if controversial, former Secretary of State, and a woman.
(The writer is a researcher at Observer Research Foundation)