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 Women’s Policy Journal of
Harvard, John F. Kennedy School of Government
Summer 2001 Issue: Work, Money, and Power:
Challenges and Opportunities for Women in the 21st Century
Table of Contents
Let’s Change the Numbers (abstract)
Sheila Burke
A Gender Divided: Women as Voters in the 2000 Presidential
Election (abstract)
Anna Greenberg
Engendering Real Security: Moving Beyond Theory to Policy
(abstract)
Deepa M. Ollapally
Comparable Worth Policy: Opportunities for Gender and Racial
Equity
Elizabeth A. Sherman
Women Waging Peace
Swanee Hunt and Cristina Posa
Labor Market Legislation That Protects Women: Creating
Opportunities or Obstacles?
Yana van der Meulen Rodgers and Joseph A. Zveglich, Jr.
Women Working for Pay or Profit in Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico,
1987-1992: Integration, Marginalization, or Exploitation
Elizabeth Wieling, Mary Winter, Earl W. Morris, and Arthur D.
Murphy
Commentary
Economic Development is Important to Women’s Development
(abstract)
Hattie Babbit
Women as Political Candidates (abstract)
Mickey Edwards
Where are the Women in Public Policy Cases? (abstract)
Sally J. Kenney
Case Study
Building Bridges to Family-Supporting Jobs (abstract)
Hilary C. Pennington and Marlene B. Seltzer
Interview
Global Conversation Highlights New Era in Women’s Leadership
Susan Bird (Interviewed by Melodie Jackson)
Book Review
Women Seen and Heard: Speaking in a Public Voice
Lois Phillips and Anita Perez Ferguson
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Article Abstracts
Let’s Change the Numbers: A letter from Sheila Burke.
Ms. Burke is currently the undersecretary for American
Museums, National Programs, and Outreach for the Smithsonian
Institution in Washington, D.C. She is an adjunct lecturer in
Public Policy at the Kennedy School, where she received her
MPA in 1982. She returned in 1996 to serve as executive dean
of the Kennedy School. Prior to this, she was chief of staff
to former Senate Majority Leaser Bob Dole for 11 years.
A Gender Divided: Women as Voters in the 2000 Presidential
Election
Anna Greenberg
The “gender gap,” which refers to the tendency of women to
support Democratic candidates in greater numbers than men do,
is a regular feature of electoral politics in America. The gap
that emerged in the modern presidential elections, led
commentators and activists to claim that women win elections
for Democrats, defining them as base Democratic voters such as
union members or urban residents. However, the data shows that
the “women’s vote” is much more complicated. It is clear that
the “women’s vote” is not merely about women’s views on
abortion rights and “women’s issues.” Important political
divisions exist among women that are driven by long-term
partisan loyalties and short-term political events. Like men,
women vote based on group affiliation (such as unions),
identities (such as racial identity), heightened awareness to
short-term political events (such as character and value
issues raised by the impeachment scandal). These differences
make it difficult to claim there is a “women’s vote” that
either party can claim with authority. Recognizing these
differences should force the parties to think about how to
build a majority coalition that includes a reliable base and
attracts swing voters. Neither party can afford to take women
voters for granted.
Engendering Real Security: Moving Beyond Theory to Policy
Deepa M. Ollapally
Few analysts today would question the need to broaden the
notion of security from a purely military definition to a more
encompassing one. Indeed, a substantial body of literature on
human security and comprehensive security is emerging, seeking
to make security people-oriented rather than territory-based.
In this debate, the critiques rising from feminist literature
have been crucial to challenging the dominant paradigms of
international security. However, this shift in discourse has
not been accompanied by commensurate changes in real world
policymaking, and much remains to be done. There is a
disjunction between purveyors of new thinking and policy
formulators and practitioners. It is a function of the nature
of feminist theory-building in international security, which
until recently did not pay adequate attention to the multiple
realities women face. This essay examines addressing these
gaps to develop a better understanding of how a gendered view
of security can become relevant to policy and meaningful
across borders. This essay concentrates on raising a number of
key issues that should be on the agenda.
Back to Top
Commentary Abstracts
Economic Development is Important to Women’s Development
Hattie Babbit
In an effort to strengthen the economic power of women in
developing countries, the United States is gearing some of its
financial support to micro-credit programs for women
entrepreneurs. These kinds of programs, which have been used
in Latin America, Asia, and the former Soviet states, allow
women to become forces of economic growth, and develop women's
domestic political influence. United States Agency of
International Development (USAID) efforts in Latin America
have also targeted labor, justice and human rights issues,
trying to provide women with the democratic skills that will
allow them to mobilize against injustices. From a U.S.
perspective, the programs bolster stability within these
countries and create more secure trading partners, in addition
to furthering the ideals that underline much of the United
States' foreign policy.
Women as Political Candidates
Mickey Edwards
In an effort to improve their impact on public policy,
Professor Edwards recommends that women candidates and
politicians shift their emphasis on gender and “women’s
issues” to an emphasis on issues of concern to all voters. The
blame for the under-representation of women in politics does
not fall solely on women and their ability to alter their
political strategies. Yet, many women candidates could improve
their chances of victory by brushing up on political skills
that help persuade all constituents that they will effectively
represent voter interests. Professor Edwards outlines the
problems associated with basing a campaign on womanhood;
offers recommendations for women to become more effective
policy-makers; and provides examples of women who have
experienced varying levels of success dependent on their
ability to communicate a platform that resonates with the
majority of voters – male and female alike.
Back to Top
Where are the Women in Public Policy Cases?
Sally J. Kenney
In their faculty, their courses and their teaching methods,
public policy schools have failed to integrate women or a
focus on women?s issues. Few teaching cases focus on feminist
organizations or gender issues, and those that do often
present women ? not discrimination, for example: as the
problem or issue protagonists must overcome. In addition,
while many feminists believe social change results from
collaborative efforts, most cases are about lone
decision-makers. This kind of framing causes students miss out
on some of the complexities of political situations. The
Center on Women and Public Policy at the Humphrey Institute of
Public Affairs is designing eight new cases that will better
account for women's perspectives and will allow teachers to
integrate feminism and gender studies into the classroom.
Back to Top
Case Study
Building Bridges to Family-Supporting Jobs
Hilary C. Pennington and Marlene B. Seltzer
Women on the bottom rung of the labor market face significant
challenges to job advancement and rarely earn enough to
support a family. Due to both skill-based and non-skill based
obstacles, women leaving the welfare roles for work have a
particularly grim outlook for escaping poverty. Jobs For the
Future explores the reasons for these barriers, and deciphers
what opportunities help low-income women in the long-term.
They have found that successful programs emphasize advancement
instead of retention and help women progress to consistently
better jobs instead of placing them in the first available
position. Models profiled here include an employer-based
program, a program run by a community college, and a
partnership between a community-based organization and large
financial service corporations. Origin, a new coalition
between the Private Industry Partnership and JFF, will reverse
the typical sequence of most employment programs by first
helping employers identify problems, then offering customized
job preparation. Instead of retaining today’s singular focus
on the worker, tomorrow’s successful programs will be
job-oriented as well.
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