The Rising Tide Of Women’s Leadership

3 Pages 812 Words

The Rising Tide of Women’s Leadership

Within the past few years, America has seen an increase in women’s leadership positions. This article discusses how women are climbing the ranks of leadership in both the civilian and military world. Not only is it more common to have a woman run for office, own her own business, or be a high ranking officer in the military, the American public is looking for leadership qualities that many women possess. This article reveals a shift in the country’s attitudes toward women in leadership positions in public office. The public embraces the idea of women leading the country. The future of female leadership is bright because Americans see women with experience in a vast array of fields as being ready to assume top elective positions.
In the 2000 presidential race, Elizabeth Dole extended the boundaries for female presidential candidates by running for office. She also proved that women can launch realistic presidential campaigns and her candidacy may attract many women who had not been active in the presidential electoral process (Wilson, 2000). Americans are looking for the leadership qualities that women have developed and female officeholders are more likely than male counterparts to bring citizens into the governing process by seeking their views on legislation. The White House Project has shown that 76% of Americans would like to vote for a woman for president. This is a drastic change compared to a Gallup Poll in the mid 1930s which showed only 33% of Americans felt that way. After a survey in 1999 by W.K. Kellogg Foundation which found that the public’s views on leadership are changing (Wilson 2000). The pubic wants a leader who can motivate and bring people together, not just use control and power.
It has been a slow transition to see women in leadership positions though. USA Today stated that in 2003 there were only eight female CEOs among the nation’s Fortune 500 companies. â€...