How women political candidates use social media strategically

¶ … women political candidates social media differently men? Does social media ultimately empower hurt women politics? Cite "Digital Divas" Essay 2: We 200 million girls world don't attend school.

Gender issues

How do women political candidates use social media differently than men?

The number of women on social networks far outnumber men. Statistics also show that women use social media as their preferred modes of communication compared to men. Generally, politics is thought to be a male dominated field. On social media, it is believed that outsiders and newcomers to politics are favored. This makes social networks to be an asset to women political candidates. This is because in the male dominated field, they are often the minority or newcomers and receive preferential treatment on social media Gelber, 2011()

Gender and communication experts suggest that social media is a better form of communication for women since they are better at writing rather than face-to-face conversations. In a study that was conducted, it was found that women prefer to use computer-mediated channels including email, social media and text messaging to communicate with leaders while men preferred face-to-face interaction Gelber, 2011()

One innovative way that women political candidates have used social media is seen in how Sarah Palin used social media to develop her public image. After the Republicans were defeated by the Democrats in the year 2008, she gave up her position as governor of Alaska and reintroduced herself to the public through Twitter and Facebook and gave herself a new image. Her efforts were seen in the number of followers that she was able to stir and keep her fans entertained and updated. Today, she has over three million followers on all social media platforms and she has built a great image for herself on social media. Many thought that she was using social media to strategize her campaign but it turned out she was simply being creative in her use of social media. However, political analysts suggest that she has kept herself relevant and should she decide to stand for elections, she is likely to win with a landslide victory Gelber, 2011()

Another woman who has embraced social networks with enthusiasm is Hillary Clinton. She has embraced public diplomacy on social media where she connects with followers to promote donations to worthy causes such as the Haiti earthquake relief efforts. This has helped her gain more followers and also should she decide to run again, she would have a stronger change at victory as a result of building her public image Gelber, 2011()

A manager at Facebook suggests that women are able to create more authentic profiles and posts on social media compared to men. Authenticity is an important factor in generating a wide audience through followers and genuine interactions on social networks. This hands women an advantage over men when they decide to use social media for political campaigns. Additionally, as suggested by Marie Wilson, voters are often looking for information about the candidates authenticity which often comes out better for women than men on social media. This authenticity comes from women being able to send longer and more educative messages about the posts and their goals compared to men who use social media to portray messages about themselves that often seems like bragging Gelber, 2011()

Social media helps women political candidates to build strong and deep conversations with their followers. This enables them to effectively communicate the positions they are running for and they often come off as the more honest candidates. This is importance since it helps the women to benefit from using social media for campaigns. Social media thus favors them and enables them to build successful campaigns Gelber, 2011()

How is poverty a "gendered" experience for women around the world?

Women often are the majority of the poor in the world. They are also usually the poorest population, a phenomenon referred to as feminization of poverty. This is because they face disadvantages and inequalities in the society that shape their entry into poverty without ways of enabling them to climb out of poverty. These inequalities and disadvantages create gender biases and the women become deprived of capabilities to improve their own livelihoods. Poverty often makes them vulnerable to men and enables men to literally trump over them. Often, women are reduced to being mothers or caretakers in the family without being offered productive parts to play outside their homes. Women also face different challenges compared to men. This is because of these inequality and disadvantages they face in the society United States Department of State Bureau of International Information Programs, 2012()

Often in the roles that women play in the household, they do not have either opportunity or time to generate income for their families. Their tasks are also often demanding to the point that they are forced to recruit their own daughters into these duties thus denying them opportunities to gain education. In situations where there are not girls or there are few girls in the household, they also recruit their sons into such duties. This creates problems in the society since the lack of empowerment for women results into suffering for their children also. In other occasions, due to low household income, the families have to choose the children to educate or are unable to educate all children. It is therefore important for women to be given ways of generating income in order to allow their children to go to school and for themselves and their families to become empowered United States Department of State Bureau of International Information Programs, 2012()

Disparity of income is one major reason why poverty is thought to be feminized. When women lack income, they are deprived of basic needs for themselves and their children. In poor societies, often women earn lower wages than men which creates a cycle of poverty for women. This deprivation of income is also thought to be passed on from one generation of women to the next since the girl child is most disadvantaged by inabilities of the family to pay for education United States Department of State Bureau of International Information Programs, 2012()

Often, women also have to struggle as single mothers or female headships with no husband either when he dies or due to marital problems. These families are often at high risk of poverty since they lack income and even when the mother is able to get an income it is often meager. Lone mother household have the same gender inequality issues make them get deeper into poverty since they are unable to meet the basic and health needs of the family. Women also face exclusions socially and culturally that also place them at a disadvantage. Many societies have exclusions that prevent women from accessing formal employment. This places them in a position of weakness and inability to bargain in the household and therefore this creates a higher risk of poverty for the women. When women become the targets of poverty interventions, it becomes easier for families to provide food and to educate their children United States Department of State Bureau of International Information Programs, 2012()