First Ladies Nancy Reagan, Lady Bird Johnson, Hillary Clinton, Rosalynn Carter, Betty Ford and Barbara Bush sit together at the National Garden Gala, A Tribute to America's First Ladies, May 11, 1994 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Today, I don’t want to talk about the men running for US President. I want to talk about the First Lady. She’s a public figure that has impacted how we see the role of women in politics. Can the First Lady take on the same causes as her husband?
The First Lady, the official hostess of the White House, can support a variety of issues her role, but the sphere of influence each woman has shifts depending on the term. In addition to Lets Move!, Michelle Obama launched Joining Forces to help veterans gain much needed employment, education, and wellness resources after their service is over. Did you know the program is supported by a National Security Staff, with official federal representation? Or did you think that it’s a “oh, that’s nice” cause for the First Lady to stamp her name on?
Nancy Reagan began the Just Say No campaign, an effort to address drug use in youths. While the program had support from the National Institutes of Health, and even became an agenda item for the United Nations, would things have been different if Nancy took on the cartels? Attempted to reduce international smuggling as part of her program? For all we know, she did. It’s just not what she’s known for.
In reading the bios of our First Ladies, the programs they support are important causes but not always integrated into the President’s agenda. In fact, Hillary Clinton‘s active involvement in her husband’s policies gets her a note about controversy in her own White House bio. Laura Bush supported literacy in partnership with her husband’s No Child Left Behind program, but responsibility for education reform seemed to sit with him instead of her.
We don’t officially elect the First Lady, so if she suddenly took a major role implementing the policies of her husband’s platform, would we have a problem with that? These women are smart and capable, potentially Presidents in their own right. So why can’t they do more?
The other shift that might come in the future is the First Lady as the career woman. Since the First Lady has no official duties or salary, just many expectations, could she continue her prior career? Would we expect a Sheryl Sandberg or Marissa Mayer to walk away from their jobs should their husband become President? Whether she’s a CEO or a teacher, a woman is entitled to her career. Does she give it up to support her husband?
The other side is that women can also say, “I just want to be a wife and mother.” My guess is that our country might be more comfortable with that answer than one that includes managing her company’s shareholders. I ask these questions because I really am not sure if we as a society could truly handle a First Lady well-versed in military strategy discussing tactics at the Pentagon or a First Lady who resides on Wall Street instead of Pennsylvania Avenue. I also don’t know if a marriage could stand that.
We will probably see more clarity on these questions when we finally elect our first woman President. The role her spouse plays could be vastly different than the expectations set by prior First Ladies. If that’s the case, then who knows what will change for future First Ladies.
I hope that each time you see an article about Marissa’s latest move, you also remember there are a lot of women in leadership out there doing amazing things, but they don’t have every detail broadcasted to the press. That what might seem like a warm and fuzzy cause is truly steeped in building a better future for the country. The role of women can continue to change, and I will be interested to see what shifts come over these next four years.
As we continue to progress into the 21st century, it is amazing how the roles of women have changed since the 1950’s. The traditional role of housewife may be osbselete. Yes, the inexorable woman’s movement has opened the doors to many opportunities for women, and it is my hope that women leaders today will be visionaries like Mary Kay Ash who dreamed of unlimited opportunities for women from all walks of life.
Thanks Olivia, as you were writing your comment, I also looked at some other 1950’s-style information: the social norm of a husband earning more than his wife. The way we think of women really impacts how we behave.