An Analysis of the Contradiction Between Gender Equality Promised by the U.S. Constitution and the Scarcity of Women in Senior Leadership Positions for Politics.
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An Analysis of the Contradiction Between Gender Equality Promised by the U.S. Constitution and the Scarcity of Women in Senior Leadership Positions for Politics.

Tracy Yutong Tang 1*
1 Concordia International School Shanghai
*Corresponding author: ttracyytang@outlook.com
Published on 23 October 2025
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LNEP Vol.128
ISSN (Print): 2753-7056
ISSN (Online): 2753-7048
ISBN (Print): 978-1-80590-449-6
ISBN (Online): 978-1-80590-450-2
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Abstract

The contradiction between the promises of gender equality by the constitution and reality can be seen parallel with American history. When the U.S. Constitution was first written in 1787, it was ordained and established by men. Women were absent from framing the Constitution and voting for convention delegates. It was not until 1920, with the ratification of the 19th Amendment, that women received the right to vote, after decades of activism. However, political enfranchisement did not inherently guarantee proportional representation within the democratic framework. Efforts to secure constitutional guarantees of gender equality, most prevalently through the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), have repeatedly stalled. Although the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), intended to eliminate legal distinctions based on gender, was enacted by Congress in 1972, it failed to achieve the necessary number of state ratifications. Consequently, the United States remains among the few democracies lacking a constitutional clause explicitly guaranteeing gender equality, despite constitutional assurances of equal representation through alternative provisions. This paper, therefore, explores the contradiction between gender equality promised by the U.S. Constitution and the occurrence of scarcity for Women's senior leadership positions in politics. Through analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, a conclusion that cause is a combination of societal and institutional factors can be made.

Keywords:

Gender inequality, U.S. Constitution, Culture, Double bind, Structural barriers

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Tang,T.Y. (2025). An Analysis of the Contradiction Between Gender Equality Promised by the U.S. Constitution and the Scarcity of Women in Senior Leadership Positions for Politics.. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,128,9-13.

References

[1]. U.S. Senate. (1787). Constitution of the United States. Senate, gov. https: //www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/senate-and-constitution/constitution.htm

[2]. National Archives. (2022). Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women’s Rights to Vote (1920). https: //www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/19th-amendment U.S. Senate. (n.d.). Year of The Woman. https: //www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/year_of_the_woman.htm

[3]. Romans Draper, Ellie E. (2024) "Lack of Women in Federal Level Politics in the United States." Journal of Nonprofit Innovation: Vol. 4: Iss. 4, Article 4.

[4]. Historical Data, U.S. House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. (n.d.). History.house.gov.https: //history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/BAIC/Historical-Data/Historical-Data---Nav/

[5]. Romans Draper, Ellie E. (2024) "Lack of Women in Federal Level Politics in the United States, " Journal of Nonprofit Innovation: Vol. 4: Iss. 4, Article 4.

[6]. Minturn, M. (2022). To Run or Not to Run? Not Enough Women Consider Political Office in the First Place. https: //batten.virginia.edu/about/news/run-or-not-run-not-enough-women-consider-political-office-first-place

[7]. Lawless, J., & Fox, R. (2012). Men Rule, The Continued Under-Representation of Women in U.S. Politics. 1–26.

[8]. Campbell, D. E., & Wolbrecht, C. (2006). See Jane Run: Women Politicians as Role Models for Adolescents. The Journal of Politics, 68(2), 233–247. https: //doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2508.2006.00402.x

[9]. Vedantam, Shankar, et al. (2016). “Too Sweet, or Too Shrill? The Double Bind for Women.”, www.npr.org/2016/10/18/498309357/too-sweet-or-too-shrill-the-double-bind-for-women.

[10]. TEELE, D. L., KALLA, J., & ROSENBLUTH, F. (2018). The Ties That Double Bind: Social Roles and Women’s Underrepresentation in Politics. The American Political Science Review, 112(3), 525–541. https: //www.jstor.org/stable/26542154

[11]. Boland, Julia. (2020). Navigating the “Double Bind”: The Relationship between Candidate Gender and Campaign Communication Strategy. 7-27

[12]. Norris, Pippa. (2006). The Impact of Electoral Reform on Women’s Representation. Acta Politica - ACTA POLIT. 41. 197-213. 10.1057/palgrave.ap.5500151.

[13]. Allen, J. (2023). “Proportional Representation, Explained.” Protect Democracy; Protect Democracy. https: //protectdemocracy.org/work/proportional-representation-explained/

[14]. BALLOTPEDIA. (2015). “Winner-Take-All.” Ballotpedia, ballotpedia.org/Winner-take-all.

[15]. Brechmenmacher, S. (2018). Tackling Women’s Underrepresentation in U.S. Politics: Comparative Perspectives From Europe. 10-14.

[16]. Routledge. (2023). Distinct Identities, Minority Women in U.S. Politics. 4-6.

References

[1]. U.S. Senate. (1787). Constitution of the United States. Senate, gov. https: //www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/senate-and-constitution/constitution.htm

[2]. National Archives. (2022). Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women’s Rights to Vote (1920). https: //www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/19th-amendment U.S. Senate. (n.d.). Year of The Woman. https: //www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/year_of_the_woman.htm

[3]. Romans Draper, Ellie E. (2024) "Lack of Women in Federal Level Politics in the United States." Journal of Nonprofit Innovation: Vol. 4: Iss. 4, Article 4.

[4]. Historical Data, U.S. House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. (n.d.). History.house.gov.https: //history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/BAIC/Historical-Data/Historical-Data---Nav/

[5]. Romans Draper, Ellie E. (2024) "Lack of Women in Federal Level Politics in the United States, " Journal of Nonprofit Innovation: Vol. 4: Iss. 4, Article 4.

[6]. Minturn, M. (2022). To Run or Not to Run? Not Enough Women Consider Political Office in the First Place. https: //batten.virginia.edu/about/news/run-or-not-run-not-enough-women-consider-political-office-first-place

[7]. Lawless, J., & Fox, R. (2012). Men Rule, The Continued Under-Representation of Women in U.S. Politics. 1–26.

[8]. Campbell, D. E., & Wolbrecht, C. (2006). See Jane Run: Women Politicians as Role Models for Adolescents. The Journal of Politics, 68(2), 233–247. https: //doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2508.2006.00402.x

[9]. Vedantam, Shankar, et al. (2016). “Too Sweet, or Too Shrill? The Double Bind for Women.”, www.npr.org/2016/10/18/498309357/too-sweet-or-too-shrill-the-double-bind-for-women.

[10]. TEELE, D. L., KALLA, J., & ROSENBLUTH, F. (2018). The Ties That Double Bind: Social Roles and Women’s Underrepresentation in Politics. The American Political Science Review, 112(3), 525–541. https: //www.jstor.org/stable/26542154

[11]. Boland, Julia. (2020). Navigating the “Double Bind”: The Relationship between Candidate Gender and Campaign Communication Strategy. 7-27

[12]. Norris, Pippa. (2006). The Impact of Electoral Reform on Women’s Representation. Acta Politica - ACTA POLIT. 41. 197-213. 10.1057/palgrave.ap.5500151.

[13]. Allen, J. (2023). “Proportional Representation, Explained.” Protect Democracy; Protect Democracy. https: //protectdemocracy.org/work/proportional-representation-explained/

[14]. BALLOTPEDIA. (2015). “Winner-Take-All.” Ballotpedia, ballotpedia.org/Winner-take-all.

[15]. Brechmenmacher, S. (2018). Tackling Women’s Underrepresentation in U.S. Politics: Comparative Perspectives From Europe. 10-14.

[16]. Routledge. (2023). Distinct Identities, Minority Women in U.S. Politics. 4-6.

Cite this article

Tang,T.Y. (2025). An Analysis of the Contradiction Between Gender Equality Promised by the U.S. Constitution and the Scarcity of Women in Senior Leadership Positions for Politics.. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,128,9-13.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

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Volume title: Proceedings of ICILLP 2025 Symposium: Property Law and Blockchain Applications in International Law and Legal Policy

ISBN: 978-1-80590-449-6(Print) / 978-1-80590-450-2(Online)
Editor: Renuka Thakore
Conference website: https://2025.icillp.org/London.html
Conference date: 21 November 2025
Series: Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media
Volume number: Vol.128
ISSN: 2753-7048(Print) / 2753-7056(Online)

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