News from Capitol Hill's House GOP caucus meetings if a further example that the U.S. Congress is not a body that represents a cross section of Americans. Remember that committee chairmenship are determined by party majority (in the 113th Congress all the chairs will be Republican, and in the Senate the gavel goes to Democrats in all committees) and in most cases still, party senortiy.
And while the 113th Senate will have the most ever women in the chamber, as Politico reports, at the top of House committees, it’s a man’s world.
Not a single woman will lead any of the major House committees in the 113th Congress.
After a day of meetings closed to the public, the House Republican Steering Committee announced an all-male slate of committee chairs, including 12 returning lawmakers who will head up some of the most important panels in Washington. The chairs for the House Ethics Committee and House Administration Committee have yet to be chosen, so a woman could end up in one of those slots.
(PHOTOS: Meet Boehner's committee chairmen)
The top female contender to lead a major committee was Michigan Rep. Candice Miller, who lost a battle for the chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee to Texas Rep. Mike McCaul.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1112/84293.html#ixzz2Ddjibtcj
4 comments:
I just find it amazing that there aren't any women representing any of the committees. Although since men have been in politics longer just because they have had the rights longer that they tend to have experience. Although what the government should be doing is that they should be giving more initiatives for women so they can represent another part of our population. Overall equal opportunities must be made.
I agree with Karan. Women have been under-represented in government for so long given their late start. There needs to be more opportunities for women in the government for us to truly abide by the Constitution and for us to have a fair and equal country.
With no women representing any committees, I really begin to question whether or not the women population is being represented or even considered in any decisions. Women should be given a better opportunity (or a more equal shot) at participating in such monumental events. Not saying that the men have not done a bang up job, I just think that with a more equal distribution of men and women, the way things are decided would be less skewed towards the male population.
I agree with the above posters. I do understand though, that seniority is still very prevalent in Congress, so the mostly-male congressmen of the older generations will hold of a lot of weight (for instance, 12 of the committee chairs are returning members). I think women have a more or less equal opportunity compared to other newer congressmen, but it's just seniority more than anything that's tilting things unfairly (and not necessarily male congressmen expressly preventing women from rising in the ranks). However, that being said, I do think having more female representation in Congress is essential to modern politics and society (especially in terms of social and socioeconomic views) as well as even serving as role models for younger girls interested in politics too.
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