Presidential Candidates Should Talk About Their Roles As Mothers

Rose Lopez/Contributing Writer

When every presidential candidate is making the same vague promises, it’s hard to know where to direct my attention, especially as a full-time grad student and a mom to two young children.

Of the 27 people running for president in 2020, 24 are Democrats. Four of those Democrats are mothers and one is a step-mother. 

In February 2019, the Washington Post published an article about how some Democratic female candidates are banking on their experiences as mothers to inform their campaigns. 

For instance, Sen. Elizabeth Warren is the first candidate to specifically address the need for affordable childcare, and she plans to offer it to all to working families with children from infants to five years old. She devised this plan based on her own experiences as a mother, like the time she relied on a family member to watch her children while she was a law professor in Houston. 

Similarly, when Stephen Colbert asked Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand why she is running for president, Gillibrand said, “Because as a young mom, I’m going to fight for other people’s kids as hard as I would fight for my own.” 

But after the first round of Democratic debates in Miami in June, The Atlantic observed that not a single female candidate directly mentioned her experience as a mother while on the debate stage. 

Meanwhile, many of the male candidates like Beto O’Rourke answered debate questions by talking about their children. 

During the second round of debates in Detroit, only Sen. Gillibrand mentioned her experience as a mother, first in reference to the unaffordability of healthcare, and later while confronting former Vice President Joe Biden about his 1981 op-ed around a childcare tax credit.

The Atlantic article suggests public perceptions of motherhood may explain the female presidential candidates’ sudden reticence. Mothers are seen as less competent and less reliable in their work than their non-mother and male counterparts, according to the American Journal of Sociology. And the presidential debates are like one big interview for what is arguably the biggest, most important job in the country.

In reality, being a mother provides the kinds of skills and qualities valued in most jobs, including the presidency. 

Mothers are flexible, organized and resilient. They manage multiple projects at once, meet deadlines, make decisions, advise, delegate and resolve conflict.  Moms are creative and critical thinkers. 

More importantly, mothers are used to being exhausted. They’re used to managing crises. And they’re used to receiving no thanks, but instead are criticized for their work.

Sounds like the presidency to me. 

Those female candidates who are mothers do themselves and their constituents a disservice by avoiding rhetoric which directly addresses their experience.

As a mother, I’m more interested in a response on healthcare, immigration or education when the candidate’s can adequately include their personal experiences as mothers. That’s not to say I will vote for a candidate solely because she is a mother. 

But I will pay more attention. 

 

DISCLAIMER:

The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

Featured image by Lorie Shaull on Wikicommons.

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