VOA常速英语:美国女候选人能否打破总统"天花板"

Looking back at her 2016 election defeat the president Trump, Hillary Clinton recently said gender stereotypes and sexism contributed to her loss.
“There have been slights against women and all kinds of sexism and misogyny, so none of this is new.”
Trump’s treatment of women from calling Clinton a nasty woman to regularly critiquing women on their physical appearance,
combined with his anti-abortion judicial nominees and racially divisive pronouncements helped spur a record number of women to run in last year’s midterm congressional elections.
Now multiple women are running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
The contenders include three US senators, Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts, California’s Kamala Harris and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.

All faced an electability hurdle specific to their gender.
“We have a certain archetype for president in this country.
It is, it has always been a man. We think of leadership, and particularly presidential leadership in a certain way and women don’t fit into that yet.”
Female Democratic candidates can be particularly vulnerable to gender bias attacks
that cast them is overly compassionate and not as tough as men in advocating causes like expanded health care for the poor.
“That probably reinforces existing views of the Democratic Party when sometimes to win that majority you need to cut against the stereotype a little bit.”
After the Clinton lost, some wonder if a male Democrat stands a better chance of winning over Americans who voted for Trump in 2016,
but today’s Democratic candidates reject any notion that now is not their time.
“Putting more women in positions of power leads to progress, and it’s not always easy.
But you don’t get what you don’t fight for.”
Another Democratic contender former Vice-President Joe Biden recently criticized Elizabeth Warren as angry and unyielding.
Warren responded in a campaign email saying: “I’m angry and I own it.”
Today’s women candidates are not shy about calling out perceived sexist attacks or double standards in how they are portrayed.
“I think it’s opening everyone’s eyes to hold on is that the way I would treat a male candidate, and that’s good for all of us.”
Recent elections indicate growing female support for Democrats in polls show and erosion of support for Trump among women.
Women will play a critical role in the outcome of the 2020 election including whether a woman finally breaks the presidential glass ceiling.