#GAReads | Stop Asking If Women Are Electable
photo credit: Kiana Bosman, via Unsplash (cropped)
“Stop Asking If Women Are Electable”:
“Electability” has become perhaps the most discussed term in all of U.S. politics, and it’s a focal point of the 2020 presidential race. Pundits, pollsters and journalists continue debating who is electable and why.
Yet even though the ability to win is a very simple concept that can be measured by a number of tangible metrics—like a candidate’s track record in previous races, a candidate’s ability to fundraise, enthusiasm for the campaign and media attention—what we have witnessed time and again is the usage of “electability” to reference gut feelings about a candidate instead.
These conversations inevitably, and unfairly, put women candidates and people of color running for office at a disadvantage.