Seven to one: not so promising

 So far the Obama administration has announced eight high level appointments to the executive branch (John Podesta, serving as co-chair of the transition team says he will not hold a position in the new administration). Of these seven are men and one is a woman. President-elect Obama has held a meeting with John McCain, and the two announced a hope "to work together to together in the days and months ahead on critical challenges like solving our financial crisis, creating a new energy economy, and protecting our nation's security."

I certainly agree that these issues are pressing. But a disturbing pattern is emerging. Neither by virtue of his appointments nor his statements is President-elect Obama indicating that he is taking heed of the concerns of millions of people that this election cycle exposed just how much misogyny and sexism pervades this country. And putting that issue on the back burner is not warranted just because there are other important issues facing the country.

Other presidents, including at least one President-elect Obama has taken as a role model, have neglected to attend to the civil rights of certain groups claiming that other issues take priority. John F. Kennedy, for example, largely ignored the issue of black civil rights for the first two years of his administration, preferring to focus on the problems of the Cold War. What finally forced President Kennedy's hand was the increasing intensity of the nonviolent but direct actions led Martin Luther King Jr. and his compatriots. Although black Americans had been demanding full civil and social equality since at least the end of World War II and King's movement had begun in the 1950s, it was not until 1963, after outbreaks of serious violence by officials against nonviolent protestors, that President Kennedy gave an address on the issue of black civil rights and introduced legislation that was enacted after his death, the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (source)

JImagine if President-elect Obama were to learn from President Kennedy's strategy of delay by showing right now an immediate responsiveness to an issue that may not have figured much in his campaign promises but figures large in the social consciousness. Imagine if his first eight appointments had been seven women and one man. What a powerful message that would have sent.

I have discussed the important of the petition drive being sponsored by WomenCount, seeking the appointment of a Presidential Commission on Women.

From WomenCount:

SOMETIMES THERE IS A WATERSHED MOMENT IN HISTORY WHEN IT BECOMES CLEAR THAT THINGS MUST CHANGE AND LEADERS MUST ACT. THAT MOMENT IS NOW FOR THE WOMEN OF THIS COUNTRY.

THE LESSONS OF THIS CAMPAIGN WERE ABUNDANT:

• As the economy became the single most critical issue in the election, the role that women play in our economic structure has never been clearer. Women are the backbone of the nation’s workforce and control 70 percent of its buying power.

• The candidacies of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin, while inspiring women and girls around the country to imagine what can be, exposed extreme gender bias in the media and throughout our culture.

• Women, who make up 56 percent of the voting population, were targeted as never before as the critical bloc that would determine the outcome of the election.

Interestingly, the Commission sought by WomenCount is modeled after one created by President Kennedy in 1961. Below is a partial outline of the proposed Commission; the full version appears here.

• The 2008 election has been historic.  Women’s roles in the election, as candidates for president and vice president and as voters, have never been greater. In our 232-year history, Hillary Clinton is the first woman to have ever won statewide in a presidential primary and has won more votes in a presidential primary than any other candidate.  Sarah Palin is only the second woman ever nominated as a vice presidential candidate.
• This election has exposed extreme gender bias in the media, in politics, and throughout our culture.  This has demonstrated that although women in the United States have come a long way since the last Presidential Commission on the Status of Women in 1961, we still have far to go.
•  The current economic crisis highlights the increasing impact on single parents (one income households – mostly women), working couples (almost a necessity in lower, middle and upper middle income households), and minimum wage workers (mostly women).
• Women have been at the forefront of this campaign and our political discourse. WomenCount is committed to making sure that once this election is over, women stay there.
• We believe that now is the time for our country to have a national conversation to address the issues and discriminatory attitudes that women face, and to ensure a better future with respect and full human rights extended to all women.

[...]

•  There are hundreds, if not thousands, of studies published, books written, and organizations established that are directed at issues and barriers that women face in their lives, with numerous recommendations to improve the lives of women in our nation.
•  We need a vehicle to discuss and implement all of these thoughts, ideas and recommendations at the national level. (emphasis added)
•  We need to bring together the efforts of the many organizations devoted to women’s issues and causes, and create a common movement to benefit the future of all women.
•  We believe that it is time for a Presidential Commission on Women to serve as that vehicle.
•   A new generation can be positively influenced by the actions of such a Commission.
  

[...]

•     The commission will be composed of a bipartisan, diverse group of experts, policymakers, opinion leaders, members of the media, corporate leaders, and women of all walks of life who represent mainstream issues.
•     The commission members will address the overall attitudes about women in this country, as well as specific issues.
•     The commission will develop the substance and scope of its work.
•     The commission will hold hearings and issue a list of recommendations, and will also ensure that its recommendations are carried out.

My own view is that passage of the Equal Rights Amendment would be the most effective step to ensuring gender equality in this country. I might be wrong but the entire point of a Presidential Commission on Women would be to assess this issue, among others, and make recommendations to the President.

Thousands of women are willing to participate in nonviolent protest to draw attention to women's issues. As the black American civil rights movement taught us, however, even nonviolent protest can provoke brutality and backlash. Making women's wellbeing and equality an immediate cornerstone of the new administration could save resources, bloodshed, and even lives. Surely doing that is of signal importance to our country. Sign the petition.

Comments

[Verite Smith]

You are not wrong in assuming that ratification of the ERA would be the foundation to begin the most significant attack on gender discrimination in this country. Go to www.4ERA.org sign their petition.

[Monarch]

As posted on New Agenda, we could also use an international conference to find out why other countries are more receptive to female leadership, and why the US is so defective in this area.