J.B Salganik
To shed more light on the issue, I recently interviewed J.B. Salganik who teaches 13, 14 and 15 year old freshmen students Government at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute.
In the interview, we discuss why women are not involved in government and politics in record numbers as they should, and how more young women can be encouraged to participate. Below are excerpts.
As an educator teaching young girls, what do you think of the current state of females generally in society?
Women have and are making great strides. Go to any college campus and you'll see that there are more women than men and this trend will definitely continue.
As a government teacher, what do you teach your students about life after High School?
I tell them that internships are key, but when they hear that it means that they will be working for free or a small stipend to gain experience, they look at you like you're insane. How many kids in the city understand the concept of working for free to gain experience? However, internships are vital especially in the senior year at college. I benefited immensely from my internship at CNN. People seeing that on my resume opened many doors to job opportunities for me.
What mistake do you believe females make in the job/career market?
Women often don't negotiate enough to get more money or the flexible hours they need.
Why don't women participate in politics?
It is an expensive venture, so funding is an issue. Politics is also a leisure activity, while so many people are too busy just putting food on the table. Also, with the high numbers of single women headed households, politics isn't an option for many. It's hard to find time for politics when you're doing everything else.
The cleanup of the throw up of raising children is most often women’s responsibility and in addition to that, many also have to work, so they are really saddled with the work of taking care of the home, raising children and keeping up with their careers.
Another issue is that women want both a family and a career but combining both is difficult. Men don't have to make such choices. The biggest problem is the family thing. Other countries deal with it better by giving both parents maternity and paternity leaves which helps the family work out the necessary adjustments that accompany a new birth and the dad also gets the opportunity to bond with the new baby.
What are your thoughts on the net loss of women in Congress?
I wasn’t aware of that, but I’m proud that two Marylanders, Nancy Pelosi and Senator Barbara Mikulski are leading the way. I understand that Senator Mikulski shows other women who are just entering politics the ropes.
What are your thoughts on the Women’s Revolution?
What's interesting to me is that in the 60s during the sexual revolution, Caucasian middle class women were demanding jobs, while African American women who have always worked were saying, “We need a break.” Also, in Baltimore City today, there are many homes headed by African American women, so where's the time for politics in their lives?
What are your thoughts on women receiving unequal pay?
They still make less but it is changing. Soon enough, you'll see them making more money and taking home bigger paychecks.
What are your thoughts on where women are in politics and government?
Women’s participation at leadership levels in politics and government is spreading. Women are slowly but surely taking over. Women will continue to spread their power. They are stepping up and becoming the real leaders.
What do you think of men in political leadership?
Some of these men are just pigs. They get distracted easily. For example, Italian President Silvio Berlusconi just got indicted on charges that he paid $10,000 for sex with a teenage Moroccan-born dancer, Karima El Mahroug and then tried to cover it up. He was trying to get them to hold the proceedings till after his term ended, but they proceeded and now he's been indicted.
Why do you believe people participate in politics?
I guess people do it for different reasons, but some people become politicians to help their buddies while they are in office and set themselves up for good jobs when they get out.
What are your thoughts on gender and race equality?
Sexism is definitely much stronger than racism. Historically they gave the right to vote to former male slaves or freedmen and waited 50 or 60 years after that before they gave it to Caucasian educated middle class women. Women still didn't have a voice for so long even after former slave men did.
What are your thoughts on the future of US politics?
I predict that in the next election, Obama will run and win again, but Vice president Biden is out. He's always saying the wrong things, putting his foot in his mouth. Next time Obama's running mate should be Hilary Clinton. She's doing a great job as Secretary of State and will make an excellent vice president.
In your classes how are girls faring educationally?
Right now girls are running circles around the boys or standing neck and neck with them academically, but there are jobs they don't lean towards because of the classes they don't like now such as math and computers, both of which are somewhat isolating subjects while many girls prefer interaction based subjects.
What flaws in women have you noticed?
Women can be vicious and undercut each other. Women are often harder on each other or female employees. For example, I worked at fancy restaurants like Linwoods in Owings Mills while I was in college. More women patronized the restaurant than men, but waiters always made much more money than waitresses. A table with many females on it will tip a waiter generously, but give a waitress an ok tip or even stiff her. Men tip both waiters and waitresses well, so waiters end up with more money.
Do you think it’s because the women are attracted to the male waiters?
I don’t think so because even very old women do the same thing.
What are your thoughts on how women are treated?
We hold the bar higher for women in society than men. Many men hate former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi and Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton for no reason. They are so fast to use the “B” word when talking about them, but these ladies have done nothing to them.
However, men can do a lot and get away with it. For example, former DC Mayor, Marion Barry was caught in many scandals including drugs, prostitution and tax evasion charges but he was re-elected as Mayor and he still sits on the DC Council. Another example is the late politician, Donald Schaeffer who ogled a young lady who was then Governor Ehrlich’s aide, but many people quickly dismissed it by saying he's just a silly old man. Let a woman try that, she'll be demonized for life.
From watching your female students’ interactions, do you believe females “like to be liked” or are confrontation averse and does this stop them from assuming leadership roles?
I have seen an equal number of both aggressive young women and non-confrontational young women in my classes. Strangely, female students seem more apt to assault each other in the city schools these days than the guys. However, I figure that this is probably because the more violent males tend to drop out of school or handle their disputes outside of the building.
I see the real problem is that people are more apt to negatively judge women who step forward to lead more than they do men, and this is especially true of other women, which definitely hurts female managers in their careers. For instance, a tough male manager is viewed as an asset, while people tend to see a tough female boss as just a “b_t*c*h”. This is obvious if you compare the media coverage that female politicians receive with the way men in similar positions of authority are covered in the media. You would think that Nancy Pelosi was a child murderer by the way she is demonized for doing her job. People really want to hate her.
Note too that Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords of the United States House of Representatives who was shot in Arizona is a woman. Also, I was at a press conference in New York City where Mayor Rudolph Giuliani publicly dumped his wife, Donna Hanover for another woman, Judith Nathan, [seriously, this happened]; but he was still able to run for President 3 years ago and it was not a problem for him. Could you picture a female getting a pass on being so heartless and cruel to her spouse and kids?
These double standards are deeply ingrained in most societies and maybe even built into our brain structure. That is why I force my soft-spoken students to read aloud, which may seem cruel on one level, but they will not get hired down the road by mumbling through an interview. So if you are raising a soft-spoken daughter or one with a very high voice, she would be better off if you pushed her to join the debate team rather than letting her choose her own afterschool activities like stepping or the pom-pom squad.
Are there traits male students display that female students don’t but would benefit from if they did and vice versa?
In my opinion, every common gender trait exists on a continuum. We all have some level of each of them in us. That said, I honestly think that nowadays it is the male students who need to start emulating the female students more. Today’s young women are not out there looking for a rich husband to save them like in the movie “Pretty Woman”; they plan to be self-reliant. That is why they tend to be far more serious about setting and accomplishing goals for themselves and being more responsible than young men are. Generally, today’s young men seem to be more caught up in emulating athletes and rappers and other fantasy scenarios. So the stereotype of the dreamy, overly romantic female unfit for the realities of the world is dying right before our eyes.
As an educator what advice do you have for people especially women who want to encourage more young women of teenage age like the ones you teach to participate in government and politics?
Women have always been integral to political campaigns in this country. However, they have usually been championing male candidates. It seems that this is changing and I think that it is a change for the best. Nonetheless, women face a few obstacles that men do not. For instance, many politicians start off as combat heroes, but women are still barred from combat in this country.
Most men holding high offices were partners in law firms and have access to informal financial networks that most women do not even know exist. Really, it is all about forming a strong network of friends and powerful people to support your campaign. What is more is that it is just harder for women to win elections since they must still overcome overt or unconscious sexism that do not hinder male candidates at all. Women should know that the way to overcome sexism is through demonstrated competence and the creation of a sense of familiarity.
In conclusion, what message do you have for young women who want to run for office in the future?
They need to put themselves into the game at a young age, learn the ropes of campaigning and the legislative process, pay their dues by serving the kingmakers, form alliances with other young, ambitious politicos and learn how to project a fighting spirit. As such, debating skills and media training are tremendous assets. George W. Bush’s main campaign skills were his personal charisma aided by his keen memory of people’s names and social details. However, intelligence and sincerity can work too. Also, since women are better at acquiring additional languages than men, they should learn how to speak the language of their area’s largest immigrant minority group.
Finally, they should seek out veteran female politicians as mentors. These mentors can critique their programs, provide advice, and aid their efforts with proven donor networks and other inside information because there is no reason they should have to reinvent the wheel.
Thanks for speaking with Sociable Susan Magazine.
Thank you.
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