Critical Commentary: 4 reasons why having a woman as president is important for Mexico

 

4 reasons why having a woman as president is important for Mexico

Notes:

I am transcribing this schoolwork to the blog to display more of my writing. Any mistake or overly optimistic argument is done out of innocence*. 

The "( ! )" indicate points of interest, something I had no time to explain to the person who received this assignment.

*Or compliance with assignment directions

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Cindy

In present day society, women are a vulnerable population, suffering from an inequality relative to men. This inequality comes into being due to the lack of access to work opportunities and their systemic exclusion from them, making women have no say in their own lives. That a woman occupies the presidential seat means other women can do the same; a country lead by a woman points to a better future for them as well, and given a woman is in power, women in general will be able to reclaim their rights' right to be codified in the constitution, by a woman. Lastly, the fact a woman will be president, makes the implementation of anti-discriminatory policy possible to give way to the economic emancipation of women. Let us examine the matter more closely. 

The positions of leadership and decision-making (legislative members, heads of State, and prime ministers) are only occupied by women an 18-20% worldwide (Axtle-Ortiz & Caro-Guzman, 2017), i.e, only around a fifth of the positions designated for decision making are occupied by women, and they thus have less representation. Greater still, this means that, in the words of Axtle-Ortiz and Caro-Guzman (2017): "Their limited participation in government structures where essential political questions and the distribution and the distribution of resources are decided tend to have negative effects (!) on the opportunities of women in the political (!), economic (!) and social (!) ambit."

This takes us to a different matter, feminine leadership. It has 4 characteristics: to listen, empathize, communicate and work as a team. (Do Better, 2023). In addition to the search for cooperation, inclusion and equality that this leadership tends to show, it is conducive to "an increase of 5-20% in their benefits, greater creativity and innovation, and the higher retention of talent" (Do Better, 2023). Seen this way, it is plain that a woman in a leadership position would have these same values in mind, benefitting the women of the working class*.

*Remains to be seen at time of writing, seriously. 

Effectively, an inequality in political representations and in leadership positions consequently leads to the economic inequality of a vulnerable population. According to a study precisely on feminine participation in typically masculine workspaces, we are told that "men have a much easier time finding employment as a mechanic [than a woman]" (Ballesteros & Maira, 2019); this fact reflects that, given a low amount of political representation, there will appear a proportional inequality in the unrepresented population in typically male spaces.

The inequality between men and women, therefore, is perpetuated by economic conditions and a low political representation, a product of an idea that plagues society: that women depend on men. Melero (2011), tells us that "The inequality between men and women is a consequence of differences in access and participation in favor of men and to the detriment of women (!), in all social, political and economic structure, being a constant in different societies independently of their distinct levels of development that are generated." In other words, the reason why women is unequal, it can be inferred, is their lack of sufficient political representation, engorged by the misogyny in the leading body.  

In conclusion, given the lack of representation of women in political decision-making affects them negatively in the economic, political and social aspects (effects which can be seen right now), the opposite effect would result from a women occupying the most important political position of the nation, from which she'd take actions to attempt to eradicate inequality on the systemic level from the country and foster inclusion on a cultural level*, precisely due to being a historical political event.

*From what I can currently recall, this was outlined in a document put out before Sheinbaum's election, named "100 points of development", or something similar. 

References

1. Axtle-Ortiz, Miguel Ángel, & Caro-Guzmán, Lorena. (2017). La presencia de las mujeres en posiciones directivas. The Anáhuac journal, 17(2), 53-92. Epub 24 de enero de 2022.https://doi.org/10.36105/theanahuacjour.2017v17n2.03 

2. Ballesteros Doncel, E., & Maira Vida, M. del. (2019). Explorando Las Barreras de la Segregación Ocupacional. Un Estudio Comparativo Entre mujeres maquinistas de tren y mecánicas de vehículos de automoción. Cuadernos de Relaciones Laborales, 37(1), 113–133. https://doi.org/10.5209/crla.63822 

3. Better, E. D. (2023, 15 de Junio). El Liderazgo Femenino, Una Gran Ventaja Competitiva. Esade. https://dobetter.esade.edu/es/liderazgo-femenino-ventaja-competitiva [Consultado el 3-11-2024]

4. Melero, N. (2011). La participación de las mujeres  en la gestión local: hacia  liderazgos equitativos. cdsaaacademica.org. https://cdsa.aacademica.org/000-034/388.pdf 

Note: Even though it seems like a lie, I was well aware of how some points used were shoddy, but I had to write a persuasive argument, not an accurate one. Enjoy picking it apart if you want to waste time. 

Thanks for reading

Achtung. Achtung.

#################################