By JUDY B. ROSENER
For the first time in our history, a woman will become speaker of the House of Representatives.
This makes Nancy Pelosi third in line for the presidency and a powerful political player.
For this reason, there is a great deal of interest in what “she really thinks” and what will “she really do.”
And Nancy Pelosi is not the only California woman lawmaker who will be drawing scrutiny.
The state’s two senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, will also wield more influence now that Democrats have regained the Senate.
Locally, Democrat Loretta Sanchez emerges as the most powerful member of the otherwise Republican OC Congressional delegation.
She is in line to take over the largest subcommittee dealing with homeland security.
But for the moment, most attention is on Pelosi.
Watching her on television, one sees a strong, articulate speaker who seems to know exactly what she thinks, and what she wants to accomplish.
Pelosi’s History
As most people know, Pelosi has a history filled with politics.
She is the youngest of six children (that requires knowing how to get what you want). She has a father and brother who served as mayors of Baltimore (that means observing what it takes to run for and win a political position). She is a wife (we know little of her marital life, but being a mother of five clearly takes political skills).
While raising her children, she was politically active in her hometown of San Francisco.
Not many male members of Congress can attest to the holistic nature of her life. One need only go on Google and type in Nancy Pelosi to see her legislative history. The liberal label clearly seems appropriate given her interest and record in the areas of education, health, the environment, family planning, housing and intelligence (she was a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for 10 years).
While personally wealthy, she has always fought for those less advantaged.
Pelosi’s demeanor has elicited comments that she is tough, strident and masculine in the way she fights for the legislation she desires. Even when she mentions her “mother voice,” she communicates knowing how to generate order, which she clearly did as minority leader in the House of Representatives.
But Pelosi is a woman, and I predict her female attributes will show clearly as she works with President Bush and colleagues with whom she disagrees.
Female Attributes
What are those attributes?
First, women tend to see power as a means to an end rather than an end in itself.
I predict Pelosi will use her power to achieve goals she and her colleagues want to achieve, rather than the “my way or the highway” (ego driven) attitude of the president. She will be collaborative.
I predict Pelosi will attempt to negotiate in a win-win manner rather than the win-lose attitude of many male leaders.
I predict Pelosi will be as concerned about the process as she is about the outcomes, something many male leaders find too time consuming and unnecessary.
I predict Pelosi will show she is comfortable with ambiguity, another attribute many male leaders don’t exhibit.
I predict Pelosi will see developing relationships as a mean to an end rather than an end in itself, attempting to work together with those of different views than her own.
I predict Pelosi will surprise those who feel she will try to push her ideas in a manner that excludes rather than includes the ideas of others.
The fact she went into the election with a plan and a set of goals she hopes to accomplish in the House in no way should blind us to the fact that she is female.
As one who has been studying male-female differences for almost 20 years, I am convinced Pelosi’s female attributes and experience as a wife and mother, together with her political savvy, will make her an effective leader in a time of unpleasant partisanship.
As any working mother of five will tell you, having to multitask, bring order out of chaos, handle quarrelsome children and keep your cool under times of pressure is great preparation for leadership in times like these.
I am not suggesting that female attributes are better than male attributes. We need both. I predict having women in positions of power will enhance political decision-making.
In the case of Pelosi, I think it would be unwise to judge this book by its cover. She comes across as similar to many of her male colleagues, but I predict her experience as a woman will temper the extreme partisanship some predict.
Rosener, Ph.D., is a professor in UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business and a noted author and speaker.
