In the wake of the “War on Women” campaign Democrats used to impugn Republicans in the last election cycle, Carrie Lukas of the Independent Women’s Forum devotes a Forbes column to the topic of conservative efforts to win more support from women.
Perceptions of “fairness” also present an opportunity. Research conducted by Evolving Strategies found that how women define fairness—as equality of outcomes or equality of opportunity—drives their feelings about policy questions. The greater moral weight a woman places on “equal outcomes,” the more likely she was to support government-growing legislation. In fact, more than any other factor—party identification or demographic characteristic—a woman’s perception of fairness was the best guide to her position.
This means that to open more women up to supporting conservative policy solutions, we must address some myths about American society and demonstrate how our path is more compassionate, more fair and will best protect society’s most vulnerable.
One place to start is the wage gap. Policy wonks know that the notion women are paid “77 cents on the dollar” for the same work as a man has been thoroughly debunked. Yet this statistic remains a fixture and likely colors many women’s perception of their prospects in a free economy.
Women need to hear how decisions about education, careers and specialties, and about how much to work, largely determine earnings and cause the wage gap. They also need more information about how proposed “solutions” could backfire in terms of reducing job opportunities and reducing workplace flexibility. These big government policies can lead to politically determined, inherently unfair outcomes that hurt society’s most vulnerable. What’s compassionate about that?
Conservatives should also explain how the dynamic market economy has been a source of great progress for women. The technological revolution, for example, has been a particular boon to women in creating new communication options and paradigms for balancing work and family.
