City & State | By Mia Hollie April 25, 2024
Despite their increasing visibility, women in government must still contend with gendered biases about the ways in which they choose to present themselves.
New York City Council Member Shahana Hanif represents many firsts for the New York City Council. Not only is she the first woman to represent her district, but she is also the first-ever Muslim woman on the Council and one of two members of South Asian descent.
She was one of the first of her colleagues to openly support a ceasefire in Israel’s war against Gaza, and she has also helped propel the city’s immigrant workers’ bill of rights and universal composting program forward.
She is unique in her accomplishments and aspirations as a politician, yet she told City & State in an interview that she was once taken aback by a complaint – not about her work – but about her hair not looking like “some of these other council members who do their hair and appear presentable,” she said.
“This was a constituent who, you know, has frequently reached out with some criticism,” she recalled. “But that particular criticism, I was taken aback by because somehow like the appearance feedback hits differently than the differing perspectives on a policy.”
There is little guidance on how politicians should or shouldn’t present themselves. However, in interviews with City & State, women politicians noted they have had to contend with perceptions of how they look, leaving them often at a disadvantage compared to men who do not have the same burden. Women politicians told City & State that they either have to abide by unwritten rules when it comes to how they dress – or create their own.
The rules of the state Senate, Assembly and the New York City Council do not include any language akin to what could be considered a dress code, though some unwritten rules do exist which impact the perceptions of women versus men. The state Capitol, for example, is open to the public and allows a great deal of flexibility when it comes to attire outside of the Senate and Assembly chambers. But within the chambers, particularly in the Senate, the unwritten rules frown upon wearing jeans and sneakers, and men are expected to wear suit jackets.
And while a notebook is not something typically associated with one’s appearance, one of Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon’s peers once told her to not carry one around, because “things like carrying a notebook made you look studious, and therefore not really political and on top of things.”
The status quo for statehouses across the country has historically been to leave dress code enforcement to the leader of whatever governmental body conducts business within that facility. Those leaders then often place that responsibility into the hands of security personnel or a sergeant-at-arms.
Downstate at New York City Hall, there are no explicit rules. Hanif often enters the building donning a shalwar kameez or sari, two garments that are emblematic of her upbringing as a first-generation Bangladeshi woman. Her decision to wear these garments serves as a way for her to reject any notions that traditional South Asian wear can’t be professional. She told City & State in an interview that breaking from the traditional pantsuit standard is her way of “reclaiming the kind of authenticity that is true to who I am, the kind of leadership that I exhibit with the values that I’m bringing to this role.”
Perceptions fluctuate based on a political actors’ voting base and the type of office that they are running for or already inhabit, according to Minita Sanghvi, a marketing professor at Skidmore College, whose work focuses on how gender and feminist perspectives intersect with political marketing.
In 2021, Sanghvi became the first woman of color and out queer member of Saratoga Springs City Council. She is now running as a Democratic challenger for state Senate in District 44, a region where 80% of residents are white and the current incumbent is Republican state Sen. James Tedisco. She said she grapples with how much to align her outward appearance with her identity.
“For me a lot of the conversation, at least in my head, is should I wear a tie or not?” she said. “But I really enjoy wearing ties. And so it’s the feeling of, what do you feel your best in? Right? That also matters.”
Despite laws that prohibit discrimination based on one’s hair style and texture, a study conducted by Georgetown University professor Nadia Brown shows that Black women politicians often feel confined to the implicit expectation that their hair be straightened.
Brown recalled the time she visited the home of a woman running for county prosecutor as part of her research. The candidate, who was Black, confessed that she was under a significant amount of financial strain, which would prevent her from maintaining her chemically relaxed hair. The visit stood out to Brown, she said, not necessarily because of the candidate’s financial woes, but because, “she never wanted this hairstyle to begin with. She was natural. And then she relaxed her hair to run for office.”
A woman politician’s look can have a tangible impact on her political success that leads many to spend a disproportionate amount of money on their appearance while running for office. “You know, it’s almost like a pink tax as it relates to paying for hair or paying for nails, paying for clothes – in a way paying for perception,” said Ebonie Simpson, executive director of The New Majority, the movement formerly known as 21 in ‘21 to give women full representation on the City Council. “And I think that it is still always going to be the case for women electeds without a change in our culture.”
Institutions that monitor candidates’ campaign finances traditionally cite these kinds of personal expenses as illegitimate uses of campaign funds. A campaign, however, may hire a consultant for a host of reasons, such as opposition research or legal counsel. Even if the consultant is not hired for the sole purpose of advising a candidate on their appearance, their role may very well expand to encompass that aspect of the candidate’s campaign.
Much of the work accomplished by The New Majority in 2021 sought to create a political environment that better supported women, therefore leveling the playing field for women aspiring to be on the Council. Simpson noted that voters’ perceptions of women – particularly about their appearances – seem to be positive at the local level, as demonstrated by the overwhelming number of women elected to the Council in 2021.
“We still haven’t elected a woman to the mayorship, and so it’s unclear if it’s possible in ‘25,” she said. “Those are the things that will help us identify whether or not we’re on the right track.”
