The Post reports that, at times, Clinton had more females among her senior staff than men (Trump now has three female senior staffers in his campaign), and if echoed in the White House, a Clinton presidency could mean female staffers don’t have to play games to get heard.
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The female staffers who use this form of communication are part of an wider, historical struggle to break through “the ultimate glass ceiling”, because in 200 years, only men have served as president, notes the Post.
Shine theory refers to the practice of viewing successful women as friends and inspiration, leading women to lift each other up, rather than treat each other as competition.
“So female staffers adopted a meeting strategy they called “amplification”: When a woman made a key point, other women would repeat it, giving credit to its author”. Back when the President took office, numerous senior officials were holdovers from his inner circle on the trail and nearly two-thirds of them were men. This “strength in numbers” idea ensures that men both recognize the positive contribution and are unable to steal it.
When President Obama first took office, the White House wasn’t exactly the friendliest place for female staffers.
Wade said it’s important to keep in mind that it’s not altogether impossible for women to face consequences for working together and women in groups are often seen as being “in cahoots” against men. As someone who’s been the only woman in a meeting or sometimes the only person of color in a space, I can speak to just how much it means to have someone acknowledge your point, give you credit, or make sure you’re not interrupted.
“We just started doing it, and made a objective of doing it”, the unnamed former aide told the Post. During his second term, there was an equal number of women and men in Obama’s inner circle. “It’s fair to say that there was a lot of testosterone flowing in those early days”.
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The strategy worked, and Obama reportedly took notice enough to begin calling on more women in the room more frequently. “Now we have a little more estrogen that provides a counterbalance”.
