The anecdotal case of, during the Senate Infrastructure Commission session on the 27th, reminds us that violence against women in politics is rooted and needs to be fought. In a moment, he states: “Minister, good to meet her. And when looking at you, I’m seeing a minister. I’m not talking to the woman. I’m talking to the minister.” Then she replies, “I’m both.” Soon after, he retorts, “Because the woman deserves respect, the minister, no.” We must not forget that he had previously declared that he wanted to hang her. What kind of statements are these? What leads a Senator of the Republic to make such barbarities against a colleague by profession?
Women were considered incapable or second -class citizens for a long time, and this exclusion is felt to this day. The right to vote arrived late. However, it is not only the delay in the conquest of rights that impairs the greater participation of women in politics. Literature brings evidence that male politicians, and these attitudes affect female representation.
Cases of intimidation and harassment happen not only in Brazil, but in several countries. Sandra Hakansson’s 2024 study of Sweden shows that, even in a country considered less sexist, the costs of policy violence persist. Not only can women ambition be affected by this behavior, but also the fact that men and women are differently evaluated, given existing standards. This behavior not only reduces the chances of effective recruitment, but means less real support for elections and less visibility. In addition, once in office, policies are expected to be respected by their ideas. What is observed is that women have less visibility, less support for their projects and are more interrupted and subject to personal comments than men.
In Brazil, a study recently published by Professor Paula Pereda (FEA/USP) and alumni at the University of São Paulo Fernanda Peron and Felipe Bailez brings evidence that, unfortunately, the minister’s case is not isolated. The study based on Fernanda’s monograph aims to understand whether there are differences in the way political women are portrayed in relation to their fellow men. To investigate gender bias in online political discourses, the authors analyzed over 400,000 messages from public groups from WhatsApp. The results are impressive. Women, although representing 24% of politicians in the data set, are mentioned in only 18% of messages. Another difference is that messages that portray policies are more likely to highlight their personal attributes (physical appearance, family roles or sexuality) than those about male politicians.
The results presented in scientific research only confirm what we have already felt in the daily life of politics. These differences only reduce the chances of increasing, despite evidence that mayors are less likely to get involved in irregularities than mayors and who invest more in health (gender imports in public management?). It is more than time for society to increase political pressure by more effective actions to combat these practices, either at the time of vote or by creating new laws.
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