Where are the Women? To President-Elect Obama from the National Council for Research on Women

As President-elect Obama meets with his top advisors and begins to build his leadership team for a new administration, we hope he will show a little gender sensitivity and recruit significant numbers of women to key positions. Here is the open letter I wrote that was published in Alternet earlier this week.

Obama's Cabinet Should Be Half Women

By Linda Basch, AlterNet. Posted November 10, 2008.

Dear President Obama,
The confetti has fallen. The pundits have quieted. And now it is time to get down to the business of rebuilding trust in our nation both at home and abroad.

As you roll up your sleeves and consult your most trusted allies about creating a team to take this country into a more secure future, I ask you to keep something in mind: the interests of the women who played such a decisive part in your election.

That means, first and foremost, making sure that your cabinet reflects the demographic of this country. It seems only fitting, after an election with such an unprecedented presence of serious, female power that you would pledge to assemble a more gender-balanced team. There are so many women leaders poised to step into cabinet positions right now -- women heads of universities, military leaders, ranking experts in the State department, in law, advocacy, and business and in the legislatures and governors' mansions across this country.

I ask this, not in the spirit of quotas or as some sort of consolation prize, but because I know that having a diverse cabinet is not only fair but good for the country; we need the most diverse perspectives, the most developed expertise, the most innovative thinkers. If you don't draw from half the population, how can you possibly create the most capable and enlightened government?

It also seems fitting that you would make this pledge -- as have others, like Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero from Spain and President Michelle Bachelet from Chile -- because of the historic nature of your own biography. As our first African-American president and with your international experience, you know the power of broadly representative leadership. Appointing a gender-balanced cabinet would be a bold first move in confirming your commitment to genuine change we can believe in.

I recognize that you are under a tremendous amount of pressure just now. The agenda is ballooning and the dollars are shrinking. The economy hasn't been this bad, as you yourself have said, since the Great Depression. We're in the thick of two seemingly unending wars. As you translate your uplifting campaign words into transformative actions, you will be facing a challenge of proportions not seen since Franklin Delano Roosevelt first wheeled into the White House.

You've got a lot on your presidential plate... which is why the insights of highly qualified women leaders are going to be critical in the days ahead. We have so long thought of "women's issues" as the so-called soft ones -- work/family policy, healthcare, education. These all top the lists of women's concerns, but polls show that the economy, foreign policy, and the environment are equally important to women.

When I look back at your senatorial leadership, your teaching and community organizing before that, it seems that you have always sought to deal with issues without confining them to a racial, class or gender perspective; you deal in shared challenges and community-based solutions, personal responsibility and unabashed interdependence, privileging -- not degrees and demographics -- but the best ideas and the most ethical thinkers. Your style -- collaborative, open-minded, sometimes called "feminine" -- certainly is a sign of the changing times.

I only ask that if you absorb so-called "women's issues" into the rest of your agenda, that you don't lose sight of them. Women in this country are terrifically vulnerable right now. We are disproportionately affected by the failing economy -- more likely to be in foreclosure and hold sub-prime mortgages (32% more likely than men despite better credit scores), more likely to be poor, earning minimum wage (68.4% nationally), and to lack adequate health insurance. We still earn less than men, still suffer from domestic violence, still struggle to meet our most basic reproductive health needs. These challenges are not unique to women, they affect families, communities, and the nation.

We are disproportionately vulnerable, but we are not victims. In fact, we have never been so poised to play a key role in transforming this nation -- and our fellow citizens are ready for this change. A recent Pew survey showed that a vast majority (69 percent) of the public thinks that men and women make equally good leaders. They also ascribed special leadership characteristics to women including honesty, intelligence, and capacity for hard work.

As a proud son, husband, and father of powerful women, I know you need little convincing that women should play a leading role in this transformation.

And, of course, congratulations.

Sincerely,

Linda Basch, PhD, President, National Council for Research on Women

Comments

[iyamchazz]

Linda, give the man a chance to form a cabinet before assuming what he has not yet done.

[anonimost]

Best person. Period. This is no time to appease certain groups. It's just too important.

[exprof]

To all those who would urge Obama simply to "pick the best person for each job": you are missing the point. Linda Basch would also like Obama to simply "pick the best person," but she is concerned that he might overlook some of the best people, simply because they happen to be women. Why would he do that? Not because he is intentionally sexist, but because all of us tend to let stereotypes affect our perceptions of men's and women's abilities. ("Gee, for some reason, the men just seem more qualified...") It's called cognitive bias, and it's a well-researched phenomenon. Look it up before you accuse Basch of being an idiot.

[MrsGreebers]

50% of Americans may be women but that doesn't mean that 50% of the top-tier talent pool for a given position are women.

[boing007]

MrsGreebers

50% of Americans may be women but that doesn't mean that 50% of the top-tier talent pool for a given position are women.

True, it could be 60%.

[libbygirl]

I get so tired of hearing that just because someone is a woman, or Hispanic, or black, or Jewish, or Republican, or Democratic, or.......on and on and on.....that Obama needs to have them in his cabinet. Is the cabinet big enough to accomodate and placate everyone's ideas of who needs to be represented?!

[benne]

Please see the following article:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/13/usnews/whispers/main4599313.shtml

Rumors are that he's planning to have the same minimal representation of women that Bush had. If this becomes a reality, it is not acceptable, and no, I will not buy that they are the best qualified people. He owes it to women of all colors and ethnicities, who voted for him in larger proportions than men, to put women on his cabinet. His choice will let us know exactly who is given a voice in this movement.

[Filegirl]

The only thing he "owes" me as a woman who voted for him is to pick the best people he can to put this country on track. I find these kind of articles so freaking demeaning. When he does pick women to fill certain administration roles, how many people are going to wonder if that is truly the best person, or just Obama acquiesing to some special interest demand?

[MrsGreebers]

#1. There were prominent women in the Bush administration and it was ethnically the most diverse administration ever. How'd that work out?

#2. Why would you "not buy that they are the best qualified people" without knowing who the people are? For example, who could argue against the appointment of David Axelrod after what he just accomplished?

#3. Who are your choices? Or are you just looking for a reason to complain about Obama?

[boing007]

He owes it to women of all colors and ethnicities, who voted for him in larger proportions than men, to put women on his cabinet. His choice will let us know exactly who is given a voice in this movement.

Right on! It wouldn't bother me one iota if he chooses all women as long as they're qualified.

[benne]

Given our society now (namely how many women are in all sectors of society and at all levels), if Obama does not include women, it reflects a decided anti-woman bias on his part. This letter simply makes sense, and Obama would be wise to make use of all of our country's assets, regardless of gender.

[Danigirl65]

Your last three words actually render the rest of your comment null and void. REGARDLESS OF GENDER should be the way he appoints cabinet members anyways. I also disagree that, if he does not include women on his cabinet, it reflects a decided anti-woman bias. That comment is nothing short of ridiculous!!

[MrsGreebers]

Women are not yet equally represented at the highlest levels of all the fields needed in the administration (for example, defense and finance). The way to fix that isn't to find the woman who comes closest and pretend she really is as worthy. The way to fix that is to cultivate more female business majors and make changes in the workplace to make these high-level careers more attractive to women.

Look at it this way. There isn't a female Beethoven, Mozart of Wagner. The way to find one is to enable more women to study the music of Beethoven, Mozart and Wagner -- not to pretend that the music of Fanny Mendelssohn is as good as Beethoven, Mozart and Wagner (or even as good as her brother Felix).

There's a hidden danger of tokenism -- it obscures the reality of the inequality that still exists.

Obama should not be appointing the best female candidates he can find. He should be appointing the best candidates he can find. And if the top talent pool is really 50% female, why aren't you whiners suggesting a list of names?

[boing007]

Obama should not be appointing the best female candidates he can find. He should be appointing the best candidates he can find. And if the top talent pool is really 50% female, why aren't you whiners suggesting a list of names?

Because we don't know them as well as we do the male candidates that have been bandied about. Shame, shame, shame.

[mallah]

let's see if Obama doesn't include woman he has an anti-woman bias? So he should in your alternate universe, hire a woman who does not have the qualifications for any post just on the basis she's a woman? Isn't that called 'affirmative action'? If Obama selected a black man or woman with such qualifications that phrase would be used for the next four years! So how come a woman would get a pass?

[coolbrotha00]

"Obama's Cabinet Should Be Half Women"

OK. Maybe it should also be half:

short people, tall people, visually impaired, physically challenged, hearing impaired, left-handed, right-handed, speech impaired, red-haired, brown-haired, blond, brunette, bald, anorexic, bolemic, atheist, agnostic, christian, muslim, hindu, buddhist, rastafarian, kurdish, russian, chinese, artistic, creative, lazy, hung, not-so-hung, promiscous, virgin, radical, conservative, etc.......

See how silly this could get? Let's just give the man a chance. It's funny how after all these years of getting it wrong without consequence, as soon as a black (ok, half black) man gets in the office everyone want to tell him how to do it and hold his feet to the fire. Only in America.

[Hrothgar121]

This is a ridiculous post. Obama's cabinet should consist of the people he thinks will best help him govern and lead the country. To pick people on the basis of anything besides that would not only be foolish, but dangerous as well. The whole point of civil rights/fem­inist/etc. movement is to ensure that one group does not get preferential treatment over the other, but rather, that everyone stands on equal footing. To suggest that the cabinet should be half women because that reflects a country which is half male and half female is just as inane as saying half should be men, or 13 % (not sure on the number, dont feel like looking up) should be black, or a couple percent should be gay.

OR: how about this...what percentage of our citizens are convicted criminals? Shouldn't criminals have equal representation? How about drug users? I want a hippie in charge of the ATF!!!

[boing007]

How about an organic farmer as head of the FDA?

[northstar11]

are you asking for affirmative action.??

better to ask for the best and the brightest . if that includes persons of the female gender , mr obama please do not reject them on this basis.

yours seems to be a 'back door' plea. - hey we voted for you now throw us a bone. -- i think there are deserving women who will be considered on their own merits.

[CBS]

Nonsense. He hasn't made any appointments yet other than Emmanuel and Gibbs and you are assuming he will not appoint women? The man has two daughters and a brilliant wife. Relax already!

[TheBlueArsenal]

When will all the demands end?

[benne]

When equality is won.

[Danigirl65]

You don't win anything by making demands.

[kathy001]

Oh, jeez! Make sure there are plenty of women, make sure there are plenty of Blacks, make sure the Muslims are represented, ya-da ya-da, blah-blah-blah. My most fervent wish is that Obama completely ignore all the special interest groups and simply pick the most qualified people to be on his team, even if they are fat, old, white men.

[rjmiller]

Agreed. I don't care who is running the country as long as they do a good job. The cabinet could be made up of genetically-altered super dolphins for all I care.

[benne]

Words that are always spoken by the champions of the status quo.

[MadeInAmerica]

FYI, you're not doing us women any good here. Chill.

[radicalcentrist44]

I think a quota system based on demographics is the best way to fill the cabinet, there can only be upside to that.

[LunarDelta]

The most qualified and intelligent people should be picked for Obama's cabinet. If they all happen to be men, so be it.