Midterms 2022: What’s At Stake For Women

We’ve heard it repeatedly in the media, from friends, families, co-workers and political pundits; at conferences and over dinner; and perhaps in our dreams: this is the most important election cycle of our lives.

Hyperbole aside, there’s more at stake for women this year in the midterm elections than maybe any other time in present history. From healthcare and voting to slavery (yes, slavery!), ballot measures across the nation can and will change our daily lives, whether we fully embrace the democratic process or not.

Before you ask, yes, this has EVERYTHING to do with tech. All these issues impact people in general and in many cases, the slight majority identifying as female, and thus have an impact on the tech workforce. In addition, in many cases, the technology or the people representative of it, have a direct connection to either the problems or the solutions to them being addressed.

Women could break records in gubernatorial races around the nation, with 25 candidates from the two major political parties running in states like Alabama, Arizona, Georgia and Michigan. While a handful of these races are competitive, there isn’t a consensus that these women will actually be elected. Studies reveal that gender stereotyping has an adverse effect on women running for office in general and more specifically, when they run for high-powered positions like governor, as opposed to being part of a group of individuals, like in Congress. Powerful women are viewed as threatening forces to the status quo, as if somehow we will upend others’ lives and destroy that which we hold near and dear. This misdiagnosed fear is what keeps many voters stuck in an election cycle that centers cisgender white men as the top, ‘right’ choice, regardless of their political ideals or record. We’ve seen what that ideology and policy implementation has given us – women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ folks and other intentionally marginalized people – over the years, and it’s our time to make a stance at the ballot box.

In Pennsylvania – long considered a swing state – two highly-contested races for governor and Senate are happening concurrently. In the Senate race, former lieutenant governor and Democrat John Fetterman is slugging it out against TV hype man, Dr. Mehmet Oz, a registered Republican who has never held public office nor spent significant time in the Commonwealth. Oz and his team have mocked Fetterman’s speech and other impacts following a stroke in August, displaying their ableism for the world to see. Democrat Josh Shapiro is trading barbs with Republican Doug Mastriano in a close gubernatorial race in Pennsylvania, too. What both races have in common – besides featuring cisgender white men – is that the Republican candidates all oppose a woman’s right to personal reproductive autonomy. Mastriano, who is supported by former President Donald Trump, has walked back on his previous statement that people and providers who have abortions at 10 weeks of gestation should be charged with murder, however, the sentiment remains: he is unwilling to recognize freedom of choice. Similarly, Dr. Oz has stated that local politicians (read: ‘the state’) should have input on how women choose to care for their bodies. Both takes are dangerous to anyone with a uterus, assigned female at birth and/or interested in getting pregnant and birthing a baby. In Texas, the gubernatorial race between incumbent Republican Greg Abbott and well-known Democrat rival Beto O’Rourke is just as contentious, with Big Tech pouring in support for O’Rourke over Abbott and the social media content moderation laws passed under his watch.

In California, registered voters will consider voting on Proposition 1, the Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment, which will either confirm or deny an amendment to the state constitution prohibiting the state from interfering with or denying a person’s reproductive freedom, which is defined to include a right to an abortion and a right to contraceptives. And though Democratic Governor Gavin Newsome is known for his left-leaning politics, this vote will either cement his legacy and hopes for the Golden State or reverse the progress that’s been made to ensure women’s right to freedom and choice. Additional ballot measures that address abortion are also being considered in Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana and Vermont.

In Connecticut, voters can decide to allow early voting, which would provide the flexibility and freedom to people whose life circumstances prevent them from voting in person during a prescribed period of time period. This level of flexibility is important for working women (who over-index as primary caregivers), allowing them to participate in the democratic process on their terms, instead of juggling timelines, deadlines, and priorities.

Believe it or not, in Louisiana, voters are considering Amendment 7, the removal of language in its state constitution that states involuntary servitude (read: slavery) is acceptable as a punishment for a crime. (Similar measures are on the ballot in states like Vermont, Oregon and Tennessee.) The measure specifically excludes “otherwise lawful administration of criminal justice,” which conflicts with the current practice of having thousands of people labor in the state’s prison system – including the infamously violent, poorly-run, astonishingly anti-human Angola prison, named after the former slave plantation on which this facility was built – for free or close to that, providing services for the state and the public. The vast majority (76%) of imprisoned people at Angola are Black and poor and born into unjust, racist systems designed to segregate, disenfranchise and depress entire communities. In December, voters in Louisiana will return to the polls to decide whether US citizens will be allowed to vote, an important ballot measure that will reflect how residents view the rights of their naturalized neighbors and others caught up in this nation’s incredibly complicated citizenship system.

Jobs continue to be a top concern for all Americans and registered voters, regardless of political party. This matters even more to women who are adversely affected whenever the economy faces a decline, as has been predicted in 2023. Women are primary caregivers – a nation’s most egregious form of unpaid labor – in households and also work outside of the home. They compose the majority of service industry jobs and are paid lower than their male counterparts across the board, regardless of industry, age, race, and/or gender identity. In Nevada, a minimum wage amendment to the state constitution could increase the pay incrementally to $12 per hour by July, 2024 and allow the state legislature to pass a minimum wage law setting the rate higher than the constitutionally mandated minimum. Similar ballot measures will be considered in Nebraska and Washington, D.C. In Montana, voters will consider C-48, a measure that will amend or oppose the requirement for a search warrant to access electronic data or electronic communications, a vital issue we grapple with as technologists and advocates for intentionally marginalized people. This bleeds into our focus on online safety and security, the blockchain, freedom of speech and more. We no longer need binoculars to see the digital future – it’s here, now, and we must be proactive in ensuring there is equity and inclusion in the decisions being made for us.

It is time elected officials reflect our lived experiences, as diverse and meaningful as they are. That means educating ourselves, challenging long-held beliefs, boldly confronting our own prejudices, and making decisions at the ballot box (and beyond) that benefit all of us. For technologists and tech leaders, that means our job as residents of this nation is as critical as the ones we perform creating products and services for our companies. Let’s ensure we don’t fall down on either.