Breaking Gender Stereotypes

Women are often questioned for entering politics and for supposedly “abandoning” their families – even though, in reality, millions of women work outside the home while juggling family responsibilities.

As a candidate, you will also have to juggle responsibilities so that your role as a wife, mother, or grandmother does not work against you. Here are some ideas:

• Talk to your family and reach clear, concrete agreements. For a period of time, your campaign will demand much of your energy and attention. Agreements around shared responsibility for household and care work will be essential so you can focus on the campaign.
• Identify your support networks (family, friends, etc) and ask for more help than ever. Be clear and explicit about what you need, how you need it, and for how long.
• If your partner, husband, brother, or father accompanies you during parts of the campaign, they should walk behind you. Not beside you. One step back. The same applies if a wife, mother, or sister with political experience accompanies you. What matters is that it is clear that you are leading. You are the candidate. You are in charge.
• If you decide to campaign with your children, take the opportunity to talk about shared responsibility and the need for the state to take part in childcare.
• Depending on the context, appearing with your children can help build closeness with other mothers. Sharing experiences, needs, and ideas can strengthen your governing agenda.
• Being a mother and being a politician is not a disadvantage in itself. Just as being a mother and a teacher, scientist, or nurse is not a disadvantage. This narrative is important to be established during the campaign. Women and men do not have a single role, we carry multiple responsibilities and obligations.

However, because women can be discredited in power spaces simply for being placed back in the box, you must be strategic. Gather data and statistics about women heads of household in your district, about mothers who work outside the home, and use these figures as arguments.

I also recommend studying the political trajectory of Jacinda Ardern, former Prime Minister of New Zealand. She helped establish a new style of leadership, including becoming pregnant while in office and responding publicly to sexist remarks.

Women are shaping a new idea of what power is and how it can be exercised – but this change takes time. That is why you must carefully balance the role your family plays in your campaign.

If your campaign manager is a man, or if you campaign alongside your husband, father, or brother, make sure they walk two or three steps behind you. You must visibly lead. Otherwise, it will be perceived (and said) that you are not the one in charge.

Be mindful of photos taken during the campaign – for example, at a market or in a hospital.

Avoid images that make it look like you are buying groceries or administering care. That immediately places you back in the box. 

A better image is one where you are speaking face to face with the shop owner, or in conversation with doctors and nurses. If children approach you at an event, crouch down so you are face to face with them rather than picking them up.

Wear clothes that are comfortable and represent who you are. If you usually wear dresses or skirts, do so. (Just make sure the wind won’t lift your skirt, because then nothing else you say or do will make the news.)

Wear comfortable shoes. You will walk a lot, and the terrain is often uneven. Kamala Harris, former Vice President of the United States, helped normalize campaigning in sneakers. Dare to do what’s unusual!

Under no circumstances do I recommend low-cut tops or miniskirts. These place you back in the “box.” The sexualization of women objectifies us, and that never communicates power.

During media interviews, work meetings, or campaign events, you will likely face questions or comments rooted in gender stereotypes, things that would never be asked of a man. I have three general recommendations:

• Do not let them slide. For example, if you’ve just made a proposal and someone looks to your companion for confirmation, you can say: “Do you have a question?” or “Would you like my assistant to take your details?” The goal is to make it clear that you hold the power.
• Do not spend too much time on them. Make a brief remark and immediately return to your message and campaign proposals. For example, if someone says: “With that body, I could have gotten the position too,” you can respond: “If that’s been your experience, I’m sorry. It hasn’t been mine. What does concern me is making sure you and your family have water every day. Don’t you think it’s unfair that this neighborhood goes without water for three days? My proposal is…”
• Do not put yourself at risk. Some men may shout violent comments in the street, such as “Women belong in the kitchen!” or “What you need is a good husband!” In each case, assess the situation quickly. Your safety and physical integrity come first.

If the area is politically strategic for your campaign, you and your team might later design a video responding to those comments – both to confront misogyny and to connect with voters who will likely agree with you.

In all cases, prepare responses in advance to potential questions or comments (you may already have heard several). Write them down. Adapt them to your context and to your personality.

Do it now. Sooner or later, you will face these questions – and if they catch you off guard, you won’t know what to say.