In addition, elective office, even at entry level, can be round-the-clock work, with constant travel, evening events, and late- night sessions. If we genuinely want a more diverse set of elected officials, we need better job conditions for those in political power. We need better working hours, health care insurance, day care, and the ability to receive a salary during a campaign. Family-friendly work hours in political institutions need to be built into a country’s political institutions to bring more women to political power. How can we tear down remaining barriers to advance women’s participation in politics? First, there should be policies at all levels of government that make the world safe for women to fully participate, by protecting them against sexual harassment, threats, and other forms of violence. All women, as candidates or elected officials, should be protected by law and practice from discrimination, harassment, and violence of any kind. At the level of policymaking on substantive issues, we need greater awareness of women’s role in caring for children, the elderly, and the disabled. Generally, the less the government does to support those who cannot care for themselves, the more time women put into unpaid family care work. Women would have more time and energy to participate in politics with women-friendly policies that support public solutions to women’s caretaking burdens. And, once in office, women leaders are more likely to be responsive to public needs and tend to cooperate across party lines, to protect the most vulnerable in society whom they have typically cared for.
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