Mothers and Political Participation
According to a 2000 survey conducted by Oxygen Media and the Markle Foundation on women's political engagement:
American women's political behavior and attitudes are greatly influenced by their mothers' activities and behavior, demonstrating the importance of role models in women's political development....[W]omen are solidly committed to voting, but are less likely to be strongly interested in politics, discuss politics or have confidence in their knowledge of politics than men....
[W]hile most women saw their mothers voting, few had mothers who showed a strong interest in politics. In addition, women - more than men - believe that politics is a sensitive subject for discussion, to be discussed only with certain people in certain settings.
One implication of these combined findings - that mothers have tremendous political influence over their daughters, but are not as active as men in discussing politics and being confident in their knowledge of political issues - is that today's women may inadvertently be perpetuating a generation of non-political women.
The Significance of Opinions
The need for all women to get past the "don't discuss religion and politics" admonition is emphasized by the key findings of the Oxygen Markle study:
According to Cheryl Mills, Oxygen's Senior Vice President of Corporate Policy and Public Programming:
- Women from families with politically vocal female role models are more politically aware than others
- Women who had vocal mothers tend to discuss politics more frequently than others.
The opportunity for women - now and in the future - to have greater interest and confidence in, and awareness of, politics lies in the hands of women today. Women are not only deciding the outcome of elections, they serve as important role models for their daughters and other young women ....Women need to become conscious of the impact that their attitudes and actions can have ....
Our generation has a tremendous opportunity and a responsibility to actively support the political development of our daughters and other young women. These are the next generation of women voters ... and, just as importantly, leaders.
