But why? Statistics has shown that since the 2008 election, President Obama not only open doors for African Americans but for all minorities, in particular women. Much of our political history has shown that the lack of “women’s participation as candidates was the lack of support for that participation among the general public” (Kathleen, 50). But since the post- Civil War era few women have ran and held positions in office, it is only since the middle of the 20th century that we are starting to see a slow but steady, integration of more women candidates. Dolan Kathleen book “When Does Gender Matter?”, she states that the reason for these changes is due to a “shift in public attitudes about the possibility of political leadership of …show more content…
In Robert Hogan’s article “Candidate Gender and Voter Support in the state legislative”, Hogan examines legislative elections in 20 different states where both men and women have competed against one another in 1996-1998. Robert Hogan focuses both on direct and indirect effects that gender might have in election campaigns, for example, “if voter’s stereotypes about women match their expectations concerning the offices women seek, these beliefs may positively affect their candidacy” (Hogan, 46). In other words, men are mostly engaged on issues such as defense and national security and women are viewed in areas as healthcare, education, family and equality. If women were to switch or maybe add on to their platforms more male topics, such as those listed above, overcoming biases will start unravel and women will tend to be a threat in political