美国女性：政治舞台的新力量
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美国女性在政治舞台上的转变：挑战与机遇
华盛顿 - 从“干到今天不容易，宝贝儿！”的香烟广告词到希拉里·克林顿角逐总统大位，美国女性在社会和政治地位上取得了翻天覆地的变化。然而，尽管妇女在政府机构中人数不断增长，她们对美国政治运作方式的影响仍然存在争议。
四 decades ago, a cigarette ad famously proclaimed, “It takes a lot to make it today, baby.” This reflected the "American Zeitgeist" of the time - confident women in pantsuits carrying briefcases, embodying the growing awareness of women's rights. Gloria Steinem and other feminists led the charge.
Fast forward to today: cigarette ads are banned on radio and television; a woman may soon become the next President of the United States. But the impact of women on American organizations and political institutions is less pronounced.
"When women reach critical mass - 20-30% - in any institution, they fundamentally change that institution's function," said Jay Newton-Small, author of "Broad Influence: How Women Are Changing the Way America Works" and a reporter for Time Magazine. She added, “Women have already reached this critical point in Congress, the (Obama) administration, and the federal judiciary."
Newton-Small’s research shows that across all three branches of the US government, women have reached this critical threshold. "30% of senior civil servants and political appointees are women, 35% of federal judges, including 40% of state court judges," she said.
But can women truly change the way institutions function? Hillary Clinton is putting that concept to the test. The former First Lady, two-term Senator, and Secretary of State is on track for a November presidential election, potentially facing Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Women make up 53% of American voters and their turnout consistently outpaces men by 10%. Since the Reagan era in the 1980s, women's votes have proven decisive in every presidential election. Undeniably, female voters constitute a powerful force. Yet the question remains: how much influence do elected women actually wield to achieve tangible results?
Several years ago, two scholars sought to answer this question. In New Jersey, they found an intriguing trend.
Susan Carroll, a distinguished scholar and professor of gender studies at Rutgers University’s Center for American Women and Politics, along with her colleague Kelly Ditmar, discovered that between 2004 and 2011, the number of women in the state legislature surged. A total of 25 women—16 Democrats and 9 Republicans—entered the New Jersey Assembly for the first time, with five existing Assemblywomen moving to the state senate.
Their research sparked a follow-up study in 2012: “Prepared for Opportunity: The Rise of Women Representatives in the New Jersey Legislature.” This study identified the driving forces behind the surge: opportunities created by corruption scandals, deaths, and resignations that opened up 12 seats. It found that women were perceived as more ethical alternatives.
More importantly, Carroll discovered that these female officials had been nurtured and encouraged at grassroots levels before running for office. But what happened next?
"We've been maintaining this level,” Carroll said. “There hasn’t been a continued upward trend. The harder it is to maintain the numbers as they increase; you have to achieve significant successes to keep them up.” In other words, it's easier to increase representation from 10% to 20% than it is to go from 30% to 40%.
Despite these challenges, women are making a difference. Female senators spearheaded major reforms in 2016 to address sexual assault in the US military. They also put critical issues on the agenda and achieved victories.
But significant disparities remain: only six of the 50 states have women as governors. "We still have a long way to go before achieving parity in positions of power," said Carroll, "The government remains a male-dominated world, without question."
All eyes are now on Hillary Clinton, who could become the first female president of the United States, shattering the “glass ceiling” that has long held back women in American politics.
“In our society, women and power remain somewhat paradoxical,” said Jo Freeman, a longtime feminist scholar and activist. "Things are much better than they were 40 years ago. But powerful women still make people uncomfortable; and the US president is the most powerful position in the country; even the world."
The future of American politics hinges on whether women can truly break through these barriers and shape the nation's destiny.