Gender and the American Presidency

Nine Presidential Women and the Barriers They Faced

By (author) Theodore F. Sheckels, Nichola D. Gutgold, Diana B. Carlin

Not available to order

Publication date:

05 March 2012

Length of book:

210 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9780739166789

In Gender and the American Presidency: Nine Presidential Women and the Barriers They Faced, Theodore F. Sheckels, Nichola D. Gutgold, and Diana Bartelli Carlin invite the audience to consider women qualified enough to be president and explores reasons why they have been dismissed as presidential contenders. This analysis profiles key presidential contenders including Barbara Mikulski, Nancy Pelosi, Nancy Kassebaum, Kathleen Sebelius, Christine Gregoire, Linda Lingle, Elizabeth Dole, Dianne Feinstein, and Olympia Snowe. Gender barriers, media coverage, communication style, geography, and other factors are examined to determine why these seemingly qualified, powerful politicos failed to win the White House.

Watch the authors discuss gender and American politics on CSPAN's BookTV
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Sheckels, Gutgold and Carlin have produced a volume that is a major contribution to the growing literature of women and the modern American presidency. This well-researched and interesting volume looks at nine women who had “the right stuff” to be seriously considered for the presidency, but encountered major obstacles in their journey. In addition to analytical portraits of potential candidates for chief executive, the authors offer solid suggestions for future female candidates and ways in which they might crack the glass ceiling.