Women in Political Affair: Voicing out to End Gender Stereotype

Women have been traditionally considered to be more nurturing, as well as more

emotional and intuitive. However, this has not always been the case. In fact, throughout history,

men have been seen as more nurturing than women and this is still the case today. However,

there are many reasons why women should no longer be considered solely as caregivers or

nurturers. Women are now entering leadership positions in business and government at an

unprecedented rate. As technology becomes more advanced, it's important that we continue to

allow women to be leaders in their own right. In the past couple of decades alone, women have

risen to the top of many industries including finance, media, science, and technology and these

industries have become more complex in recent years.

Politics is not one of those professions, despite the impressive advancement made by

women in many others. In fact, women have conspicuously been absent from decision- and

policy-making in government around the world. The first world conference on women was held

in Mexico City in 1975, and it served as a reminder to the international community that

discrimination against women persisted in many nations. Despite calls for governments to create

policies to advance equal participation for women, political participation was not yet seen as a

top priority. Since then, there has been more attention paid to women's representation and how it

affects the structures of decision-making, but the results of this increased focus have not been

seen right away.

Governments and parliaments did not commit to advancing gender equality in all spheres

of political life until the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the
United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development, and Peace, held in Nairobi in 1985.

Ten years later, at the Fourth World Conference on Women, the Beijing Plan of Action was

established, further consolidating the initiatives. The conference was also where violence against

women was acknowledged as a barrier to women's advancement that needed special attention.

What am I stating here is that, we also need to recognize women and give them the

chance a voice out their opinions in political affairs. Studies demonstrate that having more

women in parliament often results in a greater focus on women's issues. Gender equality and true

democracy are fundamentally dependent on women's political engagement. It makes it easier for

women to participate directly in public decision-making and provides a way to ensure that

women are held more accountable. Increasing the proportion of women in positions of power is

the first step toward political accountability to women, but it cannot end there. Gender-sensitive

governance reforms are necessary to increase the efficiency of all elected officials in advancing

gender equality in public policy and ensuring its implementation. According to United Nations

(2017) they claimed that Women's rights are receiving substantial political awareness thanks to

their participation in governmental decision-making on a global scale. Women are not a

monolithic group, but they frequently stand up for one another and have helped put women's

problems and concerns on the parliamentary agenda. Violence against women is one such serious

issue. It is no accident that there has been an increase in focus paid to ending all types of

violence against women, despite the fact that this is not a problem that simply affects women.

One of the supporting facts that would strengthen this issue is that promoting women's

political participation and good governance is one of the pillars of UN Women's work in order to

make sure that decision-making processes are inclusive, responsive, equitable, and participatory.

Focused efforts are made through planned entry points that have the potential to improve the
status of women by sparking broad-reaching, protracted effects. Actually, through a number of

programs targeted at enhancing women's capacity to play effective roles as political actors and to

enhance the gender-responsiveness of governance systems, UN Women is promoting women's

political involvement in Timor-Leste. Timorese rural women are the focus of the Programme for

Enhancing Rural Women's Leadership and Participation in Nation Building (PERWL), which

aims to increase the capacity of women leaders and groups at the national and local levels to take

part in the process of nation building. The evidence confirms that women should be involved in

political affairs is that they have a better understanding of the people who live in their

neighborhoods, and that this understanding can help them make more informed decisions about

how to serve their communities. In addition, because of their role as caregivers and guardians of

young children, women are more likely than men to be able to see what is happening in the lives

of other people. Women are also more likely to have a reputation for being honest and

trustworthy, which makes them particularly well-suited for holding positions of power in

government.

Next supporting fact is that in a world where women are not allowed to vote, there is still

a long way to go in terms of equality. However, there is some evidence that women should be

involved in political affairs. In the United States, women make up over half of all voters (but still

only 20% of congresspeople). The Pew Research Center has found that young women are more

likely than young men to vote and less likely to be registered to vote. In addition, young women

are more likely than young men to identify as Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents.

This means that they may be more likely than young men to support policies that benefit women.

A study conducted by Brigham Young University found that when women are involved in

politics, they tend to be more supportive of social programs that help disadvantaged groups. This
includes programs such as Social Security and Medicare, which benefit both sexes equally but

have become associated with one sex due to historical biases against women. Women's rights are

an important part of the feminist movement. They are concerned with the political, economic,

and social status of women in society. Women's rights activists have been working to gain

equality in areas such as employment, education, healthcare and other family issues. The goals of

these organizations include equal pay for equal work and access to reproductive health services.

In addition to providing services for their clients, many feminist organizations also advocate for

broader policy changes that make society more equitable for women. In this way, they work to

promote positive change for all people regardless of gender.

And lastly, The Philippines has made significant progress in recent years toward

increasing women's political engagement. From 15% in 2006 to 27.2% in 2016, more women

were elected to positions in the national government. However, as the reflections of young

women like Lovelle Lauzon demonstrate, this advancement is not occurring quickly enough for

young women to yet experience its benefits in a society that undervalues their capacity to be

change-agents. In the 2016 elections, women outnumbered men by almost two million voters.

Less than a fifth of the women running for office represented just 19.36% of the total number of

candidates. This demonstrates that despite the fact that women are eager to participate in politics

as voters, there are still substantial societal and cultural hurdles preventing their participation

from being equitably reflected as elected politicians.

One of the biggest obstacles to women having access to the same opportunities as men is

gender stereotypes and societal conventions. When women feel as though their voices are not

being heard, they run the danger of ceasing to speak. people refrain from voicing their opinions.
It's essential to dismantle constrictive, ingrained gender stereotypes in order to remove obstacles

for women's participation. The significance of changing ingrained gender norms in order to

ensure that men and women are equally represented in politics and that women are just as

capable as men. Men may not always be aware of women's issues, which is why we need

women's representation.

Women should have a voice in decision-making and political affairs because it is the

right thing to do. Women are, by definition, half of humanity, and their voices should be heard as

much as those of men. In order for all humans to be able to thrive and live in harmony with one

another, it is imperative that we listen to one another's perspectives and opinions. Women are not

only half of humanity; they also bring a unique perspective to any discussion or decision-making

process that involves them. By having women's voices heard in politics, we can ensure that

policies are made with an eye toward what is best for all people, rather than just the most

powerful interests at any given time. This will help ensure that policies are created with an eye

toward people's needs instead of their wants or perspectives on power dynamics within society.

They should have a voice in decision-making and political affairs because it is their voices that

determine whether or not a society can be successful. Women are the ones who make all the

important decisions for families, which are critical to the health and well-being of a population.

When women are not included in decision-making, they will be excluded from key resources and

opportunities. When women are not included in politics, they will be excluded from key

decisions and opportunities that help shape their lives and futures. As the saying goes “If men are

capable of doing extraordinary things, then women are no different”.

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