The Path to Political Leadership and Women in Power:

World politics today have an unequal gender division that delegates who may and may not obtain power. Certain labels such as Ð''femininity' and Ð''masculinity' associated with gender tend to make one sex appear weaker than the other. This gender division covers the world over and this ideology shapes how concepts, practices, and institutions are taught; but most importantly, how the world's power is distributed and illustrates women as being the inferior race.

Both men and women who rise to power tend to be well educated (women often in fairly nontraditional areas), affiliated with political families, and to come from wealthy ancestry. Generally though, women have a decreased amount of access to and leadership experience within the institutions that provide for candidate pools. However, typical paths to power for female candidates for political office include: recruitment from previous leadership roles in specific political parties, local/regional government, civil service careers, and the military, among others. Some women follow the stepping stones of politics, climbing the rungs from local to regional to national party activities and building on prior successes. Other women rise during transitional periods; while others still, such as Benazir Bhutto, acquire office through familial ties to politically prominent men and develop their own right to political power.

Bhutto, born in Karachi in 1953, attended both Radcliffe College and Oxford University and graduated with degrees in philosophy, politics, and economics. Having dealt with the assassination of her father, she rose to power after a six year struggle as the leader of the then opposed Pakistani People's Party. After being arrested many times over and spending time either in prison or under detention, Bhutto was sworn in as the first female Prime Minister of Pakistan on December 2, 1988. As Prime Minister, Bhutto has focused on issues such as reducing discrimination between men and women in Pakistan, education for the underprivileged, health, and social welfare. Bhutto clearly rises above gender divisions as a leader in politics.

Gender socialization places men and women in different states of power in such a way that "appropriate" feminine behavior and the internalization of ingrained stereotypes, such as the idea that motherhood and familiar concerns are the primary roles of women, make them less likely to pursue political activities. Also, the so-called female domestic role conflicts with publicly oriented activities and traits associated with political success, like ambition, aggression, and authority, all considered unfeminine. Since both men and women hold gender stereotypes, women who seek leadership positions must automatically struggle with their own internalization as well as the stereotyping climate that amplifies resistance to women in leadership positions. The qualities of women who achieve positions of power and expectations of fittingly feminine behavior often clash with qualities necessary to successful leadership: "appropriately" feminine women are seen as passive, dependent, and domesticated, whereas successful political leaders are active, autonomous, and publicly oriented.

Gender socialization also manufactures separate male and female orientations, or social constraints, toward political involvement, especially in capitalist or masculinist societies. It also produces patterns in behavior that result in differing living situations between women and men that force women away from participation. The interaction of gender stereotypes provides us with a better explanation. Due to familial responsibilities, such as meals, laundry, and household upkeep, women are left with little time or energy for political participation. The more demanding the participation in the political sphere, the harder it is for a woman to combine that and her familial responsibilities; therefore, many of these women are likely to remain unmarried, end up divorced, or to enter politics later in life. Men, on the other hand, are not forced to combine their domestic lives with their political lives, as women are; thus making it far more difficult for women to succeed.

While gender socialization and situational constraints are a force to be reckoned with for women in politics, one must also consider