Women in Politics: Marital Status and Candidacy

From the Introduction

"As more and more women of all different varieties have entered political spheres around the world over the last hundred years or so, many things have become evident about the way that these women are treated in systems designed by and for men. While not all women are alike, it is still striking in how many basic considerations of the very fact of womanhood have come into fundamental conflict when met with political structures that never considered that women might ever be involved.

"The very real expectations that still exist for women to have children and be heavily involved with the raising of those children is one example — women who enter politics despite having kids have to make sacrifices in order to expend the time and energy required to get elected to office. At the same time, women who fail to meet the 'mother' stereotype in politics (either by prioritizing their career over their children or not having children in the first place) are often penalized by being portrayed as cold and uncaring…"