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Study finds State Legislatures Dominated By white Men
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:24 pmby San Lumen
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/08/politics ... index.htmlA study from the not for profit New American Leaders has found that of the 7883 state legislators in the US 81 percent are white and 71 are male. Black legislators make up just under 10% while Latino politicians represent about a little more than 4% and Asian Pacific Islanders about 2%. Women are about 30 percent.
I would have thought after the 2018 elections it would be much lower than that. The results were quite surprising. As to why it’s so white male dominated I do not know. Perhaps some states prefer men or men are seen as more likely to be elected?
Some progress has been made though. A record number of women are running for state legislatures this year breaking 2018’s record. Hopefully state legislatures become more diverse after this year. Here in New York both our legislative chambers has the majority caucus lead by black woman
I would assume this isn’t just a US phenomenon. I would imagine it’s the case in other countries as well though I can’t speak for them without data. Your thoughts NSG on why this is the case?
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:26 pmby Rojava Free State
Well I will just say this. You can't totally blame men for this since half the electorate is women.
Just saying.
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:26 pmby La Xinga
Ok, why should we care exactly?
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:27 pmby San Lumen
Rojava Free State wrote:Well I will just say this. You can't totally blame men for this since half the electorate is women.
Just saying.
Women can’t be elected if they don’t run so that’s a fair point
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:28 pmby Dresderstan
La xinga wrote:Ok, why should we care exactly?
My thoughts exactly.
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:28 pmby The Reformed American Republic
La xinga wrote:Ok, why should we care exactly?
This ^^ This is not a racist or sexist conspiracy.
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:29 pmby San Lumen
La xinga wrote:Ok, why should we care exactly?
Legislatures ought to look like the electorate and the provinces they represent
The Reformed American Republic wrote:La xinga wrote:Ok, why should we care exactly?
This ^^ This is not a racist or sexist conspiracy.
I implied nothing of the sort
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:30 pmby Anatoliyanskiy
Well, I mean, it's not the state's fault that less women are represented, nor ethnic minorities. They may not have the same incentive to run for office, yes, and the FPTP nature of elections makes it harder for women and minorities to get elected. If the US switched to PR or something like that, they'd probably be a spike in representation for women and minorities.
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:31 pmby La Xinga
San Lumen wrote:La xinga wrote:Ok, why should we care exactly?
Legislatures ought to look like the electorate and the provinces they represent .
And if they were mostly women, let's complain about that.
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:31 pmby The Reformed American Republic
San Lumen wrote:La xinga wrote:Ok, why should we care exactly?
Legislatures ought to look like the electorate and the provinces they represent
The Reformed American Republic wrote:This ^^ This is not a racist or sexist conspiracy.
I implied nothing of the sort
Then this is a non-issue. What matters is the policies they impose, not their race and genitals.
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:32 pmby Dresderstan
San Lumen wrote:La xinga wrote:Ok, why should we care exactly?
Legislatures ought to look like the electorate and the provinces they represent .
No that's not how it works.
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:35 pmby Xmara
We needed a study to confirm this?
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:36 pmby Stellar Colonies
This isn't surprising, considering there is still some momentum from when political office was very much still just a male gender role. However, things are gradually balancing out on their own, whether naturally as more emerging politicians happen to be female or by artificially promoting female politicians (the former being far better than the latter).
Also, just to everyone out there:
Please please please don't vote for a candidate just because they're female (or male), please just go for the man or woman who has the better policies. Voting just because a candidate is male or female is counterproductive, because that just supports male and female politicians with bad policies.
*The above only applies if you believe voting actually matters.
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:36 pmby Cekoviu
woah i'm shocked
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:36 pmby Greed and Death
A large problem you run into is many states the legislature is part time. So if you do not have the wealth that you can get by on part time or a job that will let you take off for a a few months every year it is difficult to do.
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:37 pmby The Reformed American Republic
Dresderstan wrote:San Lumen wrote:Legislatures ought to look like the electorate and the provinces they represent .
No that's not how it works.
Exactly. A black politician can be just as corrupt and out of touch as a white politician.
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:44 pmby Duvniask
Holy shit, all the thoughtless people coming out the woodwork in this thread.
"Why should we care"
Do you guys not understand why it's good to have governments that are representative and in touch with the concerns of the public? What the fuck.
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:44 pmby San Lumen
Stellar Colonies wrote:This isn't surprising, considering there is still some momentum from when political office was very much still just a male gender role. However, things are gradually balancing out on their own, whether naturally as more emerging politicians happen to be female or by artificially promoting female politicians (the former being far better than the latter).
Also, just to everyone out there:
Please please please don't vote for a candidate just because they're female (or male), please just go for the man or woman who has the better policies. Voting just because a candidate is male or female is counterproductive, because that just supports male and female politicians with bad policies.*The above only applies if you believe voting actually matters.
I agree completely and voting does matter
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:50 pmby The Reformed American Republic
Duvniask wrote:Holy shit, all the thoughtless people coming out the woodwork in this thread.
"Why should we care"
Do you guys not understand why it's good to have governments that are representative and in touch with the concerns of the public? What the fuck.
Most politicians here of any color are out of touch. This call for more diversity makes the people championing this look like heros without actually changing our political system for the better.
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:50 pmby Duvniask
The Reformed American Republic wrote:La xinga wrote:Ok, why should we care exactly?
This ^^ This is not a racist or sexist conspiracy.
What sort of ignorant ass shit is this? No one is suggesting this is anything approaching a conspiracy. White people and men hold power due to structural-historical reasons which have left them dominant culturally, politically and economically.
The Reformed American Republic wrote:San Lumen wrote:Legislatures ought to look like the electorate and the provinces they represent
I implied nothing of the sort
Then this is a non-issue. What matters is the policies they impose, not their race and genitals.
The policies they impose are shaped by their views, which are in turn shaped by their different experiences in life. Being a woman means you're going to have insight into the concerns of women; likewise for men, but they occupy the dominant position already.
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:53 pmby Ors Might
Duvniask wrote:Holy shit, all the thoughtless people coming out the woodwork in this thread.
"Why should we care"
Do you guys not understand why it's good to have governments that are representative and in touch with the concerns of the public? What the fuck.
Seeing as how wealth is almost always a necessity to actually be in government, I fail to see how their genitals or skin color would make them all that representative of the common people.
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:55 pmby Shofercia
San Lumen wrote:https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/08/politics/state-legislature-diversity-study-2020/index.html
A study from the not for profit New American Leaders has found that of the 7883 state legislators in the US 81 percent are white and 71 are male. Black legislators make up just under 10% while Latinx politicians represent about a little more than 4% and Asian Pacific Islanders about 2%. Women are about 30 percent.
I would have thought after the 2018 elections it would be much lower than that. The results were quite surprising. As to why it’s so white male dominated I do not know. Perhaps some states prefer men or men are seen as more likely to be elected?
Some progress has been made though. A record number of women are running for state legislatures this year breaking 2018’s record. Hopefully state legislatures become more diverse after this year. Here in New York both our legislative chambers has the majority caucus lead by black woman
I would assume this isn’t just a US phenomenon. I would imagine it’s the case in other countries as well though I can’t speak for them without data. Your thoughts NSG on why this is the case?
You need to focus more on politicians who are willing to pull minorities out of poverty, rather than on politicians who are minorities. There are almost no white men leading Zimbabwe, how's that working out?
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:56 pmby Stellar Colonies
Duvniask wrote:The Reformed American Republic wrote:This ^^ This is not a racist or sexist conspiracy.
What sort of ignorant ass shit is this? No one is suggesting this is anything approaching a conspiracy. White people and men hold power due to structural-historical reasons which have left them dominant culturally, politically and economically.
The Reformed American Republic wrote:Then this is a non-issue. What matters is the policies they impose, not their race and genitals.
The policies they impose are shaped by their views, which are in turn shaped by their different experiences in life. Being a woman means you're going to have insight into the concerns of women; likewise for men, but they occupy the dominant position already.
Most politicians being men hasn't always led to male concerns (problems) being addressed despite their insight and dominance.
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:56 pmby San Lumen
Ors Might wrote:Duvniask wrote:Holy shit, all the thoughtless people coming out the woodwork in this thread.
"Why should we care"
Do you guys not understand why it's good to have governments that are representative and in touch with the concerns of the public? What the fuck.
Seeing as how wealth is almost always a necessity to actually be in government, I fail to see how their genitals or skin color would make them all that representative of the common people.
Having someone whose black in the legislature would know more about issues facing their demographic and community then someone whose white
Posted:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:59 pmby Ors Might
San Lumen wrote:Ors Might wrote:Seeing as how wealth is almost always a necessity to actually be in government, I fail to see how their genitals or skin color would make them all that representative of the common people.
Having someone whose black in the legislature would know more about issues facing their demographic and community then someone whose white
Would they though? I wouldn’t say some rich white dude in office would really understand how I, a somewhat poor white dude, live and what issues I face. Why would a rich black woman understand the life and issues a poor black woman faces?