The United States has taken large steps forward in regards to having their first female Vice President, but still has a long way to go. Gender bias continues to be prevalent in the United States as shown by the 2024 election.
As the first female Vice President, Kamala Harris was called a diversity, equity and inclusion hire, completely disregarding her qualifications. Harris has served as the attorney general in California, a senator and is the current Vice President; yet, many refer to her as unqualified.
Rhetoric teacher Dr. Lynne Lundberg noted the alarming factor leading to this excess criticism. “Unless we are to assume that the men throughout history whose political careers followed this trajectory were similarly ‘unqualified,’ the only difference that comes to mind is gender. Is a woman unqualified simply because she is a woman? Unfortunately, I believe many people – men and women – consider womanhood to be a disqualifying factor for high office,” stated Lundberg.
Some of these critiques come from citizens who believe women are too emotional for such an important role. However, Harris has proved herself time and time again, showing the importance of expression in politics through her reflection being a middle class woman raised by a single mom.
However, Trump was born into a generational empire and never had to prove himself. Instead, Trump had to disprove himself to the American people. Trump defeated Harris to win the presidency despite being a felon convicted of 34 crimes, a convicted sexual abuser, a hopeful dictator and an inciter of an insurrection on the capital, yet that is not enough to turn his voters away.
Not only this, but what Trump’s supporters pride him on, his economic policy, is not his strong suit either. Twenty-three Nobel Peace Prize winning economists believe Trump’s economic policy will lead to a less equitable economy for Americans.
Unlike Trump, Harris had a detailed economic plan to lower costs for middle class families, lower healthcare costs and lower energy costs to build an opportunistic economy.
Harris was scrutinized every step of the campaign trail, including when she did casual interviews on talk shows like Oprah Winfrey’s and podcast, “Call Her Daddy.” Harris even did an interview with Fox News despite its right-wing status. But, Trump wasn’t criticized about the lack of interviews he had completed and the slowdown of his campaigning.
Junior Chloe Kramer saw a stark difference between the standards set for Trump versus Harris. “No matter what she does in an interview, there is always something wrong, while Trump is unqualified as a felon and someone who has said such horrible things. Yet this election was still a competition,” said Kramer.
At Trump’s rallies, he continuously threatened those who didn’t support overturning the election, championed an extreme agenda to deport undocumented migrants and plans to implement a “100%, 2000%” tariff that would ruin the American economy.
The differences in expectation are obvious as Trump’s supporters permit him to spout false rhetoric and cheer for his incompetent remarks. The other conservative faces Trump associates himself with hurt his image further.
At a recent Trump rally, well-known names like Tucker Carlson (Fox News) and Elon Musk took the stage prior to Trump’s speech. However, the speakers after Trump were much more noteworthy.
Trump’s friend Tony Hincliffe took the stage and added numerous racist remarks and attacks about Puerto Rico.
Yet, Trump will still received millions of votes on Nov. 5. Some of these votes may be the result of some still unwilling to vote for a female president.
Former President Barack Obama directly communicated to one of the most influential demographics in this election–Black men. Obama referenced Trump’s racist past while campaigning in Pittsburgh, stating, “You’re thinking about sitting out, or supporting somebody who has a history of denigrating you, because you think that’s a sign of strength, because that’s what being a man is? Putting women down? That’s not acceptable,” expressed Obama.
The same double standards shown in this election apply to the workforce. The Women in the Workforce report shows that 38% of women’s leadership and competence will be questioned in comparison to 26% of men.
Kramer notices this double standard in the workforce. “I think that there definitely is a gender bias in the election, and it is similar to what we see in the workplace. Women will be the better candidate, but they are not getting the promotion,” said Kramer.
Especially after the result of the Nov. 5 election, it is evident the US still has a long way to go in addressing the double standards in politics and the workplace.
