Women Political Candidates Social Media Differently Men? Essay

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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()

Ways a girls' education entirely relates to her (and her country's) livelihood

Research that has been conducted shows a correlations between increased education levels of women and reduction of poverty and corruption. There are studies that show that gender inequality through women having lesser levels of educational attainment often lead to increased poverty, corruption, and other societal problems. In the society, women and girls often bear a disproportionate share of household duties including taking care of family members including children, subsistence agriculture, collection of firewood, fetching water and other activities such as taking care of livestock. These activities do not allow women to concentrate in education and they are never compensated for such household duties. These activities thus limit women's choices in life and make them less focused on empowerment of the community.

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A study conducted in the 1980s shows that women often spend up to 95% of their income on food and health care for the family compared to men who spend the highest percentage of their income on personal needs. Therefore, education to a woman will enable her to be able to earn a higher income thus improving her ability to sustain the family and children thus improving their quality of life considerably. Studies show that when women are empowered through education, it is an investment with a high payoff since it results in better livelihoods for themselves and their families in the future. With this increased income, educated women also invest wiser and more than men. This is important in securing the future of the family since it enables the family to sustain its expenditures through returns on investment United States Department of State Bureau of International Information Programs, 2012()

At an individual level, an educated woman will be able to make better choices through understanding that they should not keep quiet when there is gender violence and they also contribute to family planning efforts. When women and girls are educated, they are able to reduce the burden on the family by making wiser decisions on family planning. Educated women are able to desire fewer children thus reducing the strain on families with small incomes. This reduces their expenditure considerably compared to other larger families and therefore the amount of resources available for the family is better for these educated women. These educated women are also able to promote the health, nutrition and, education of children since they appreciate the importance of education and they are able to provide a better future for the children and the community at large. Often, when mothers are educated, they also do not have to make difficult choices regarding which children to educate rather they educate all their children since they are fewer and thus enable them to enjoy better lives ahead United States Department of State Bureau of International Information Programs, 2012()

Educated mothers also increase the human resources available for the companies and organizations thus enabling economies to maximize their human resource potential. When women are educated, they are able to compete for jobs alongside men, which improves the workforce available for the economy and thus improves the economy of the country through this expanded talent pool. Educated women also present challenges for men and other women by advancing their education thus leading to a more learned country overall. Therefore, when one woman is educated, the benefits are not only felt at the individual but also at the national level United States Department of State Bureau of International Information Programs, 2012()

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.....

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