An International Relation Expert, Dr. Ishmael Kwabla Hlovor has disclosed a complex interaction behind the American 2024 election voter’s choice with regard to gender, race, and leadership.
Former President Donald Trump took the stage and declared victory in the early hours of Wednesday morning, cementing an extraordinary political comeback.
As the US has elected its leader, a controversial topic has popped up in regards to the country’s readiness to accept women’s leadership, especially a Black woman.
The candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris, a woman of Indian and Jamaican descent, has sparked a broader debate not only about gender and race but also about what American voters truly want in their leaders.
Speaking on the Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey, Mr. Kwabla Hlovor stated that America is not ready for women leaders because they perceive women as weak.
“So you continue to analyze, but if you look at what has come so far, it shows clearly that the America we have now is not so much ready for a society that is led by a woman and a black woman. It’s not so much ready for a foreign policy that will open up American society to all of us or all nations. They want a strong leader.
“And unfortunately, when you try to get what Harris wants to do for the black Americans, it’s not so clear what exactly she wants to do. So that is why, while she stands as a woman and you say, oh, there will be a gender, it’s not automatic”, he added.
The international relations expert further explained that America is historically divided along racial lines when it comes to leadership.
“This is a very racially divided society,” the expert continued, pointing out the difficulty of accepting a Black female president, particularly when considering the nation’s divided views on gender and race. “To talk about a female Black president, sometimes they may be pushing it all of a sudden too far.”
Mr. Kwabla in analyzing political dynamics surrounding gender further explained that elections are complicated by differing opinions within the female electorate.
According to him, the evangelical women, for example, tend to prioritize policy over gender adding that they may reject Harris’s views on issues like abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, viewing them as contrary to their values.
“There are women, particularly the evangelicals, who believe that America is going towards, if you want to call it, satanic ways,” he added.
He also stated that for some voters, gender is secondary to a candidate’s stance on key issues.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Jasmine Adjei Anyetei
