Conclusion

Our analysis confirms the importance and the need for greater discussion of these gender-work-family policy issues on the debate stage and beyond. Moving forward, how much can voters expect to hear about gender-work-family supportive policies from Democratic candidates?

Overall, the two remaining Democratic candidates discussed gender-work-family policy issues less than their rivals. Over the course of the ten debates, from June 26, 2019 to February 25, 2020, the former vice president and Sen. Sanders mentioned childcare just two and five times, respectively. On one occasion, Sanders highlighted the need for paid family and medical leave. And the former vice president mentioned the gender pay gap only once. Neither candidate addressed the problem of gender-based workplace harassment in the ten debates.

The onus is on the two remaining candidates to continue to talk about these issues. This will mean incorporating childcare, the gender pay gap, gender-based workplace harassment, and paid family and medical leave into their existing talking points and overall campaign messaging in ways that they did not do frequently or substantively during the debates.

Their performance in the eleventh debate on March 16, 2020, shows that these issues may continue to resurface. The vice president recognized the need for childcare solutions in light of COVID-19 and Sen. Sanders mentioned the need for universal childcare and equal pay in the context of women's financial security. The senator also pointed out the lack of paid family and medical leave in the United States. The extent to which both candidates will speak substantively on all work-family and gender-justice issues and address their impact on the American electorate–namely on women and underrepresented minorities–remains to be seen.

The Importance of Representation

This analysis underscores the importance of representation–who is on the stage matters a great deal—and who is not on the stage matters even more. As the debate cycle progressed, the presence of women and candidates of color diminished, as did their ability to focus on the issues affecting voters of underrepresented communities. When Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) spoke about the gender pay gap and paid family and medical leave, for instance, she framed these issues within the context of racial equity and economic justice–tying the need for fair compensation and paid time off to the poor health outcomes of Black women, who are at least three times more likely to die during childbirth than their white counterparts. Although Harris was only a candidate through the fifth debate on November 20, 2019, she centered the experiences of Black women on a national stage, bringing attention to the ways in which systemic racial inequality impacted the survival of Black women and their families.

When women and people of color had a place on the stage, they raised the issues that disproportionately impact women and racial minorities, and ultimately impacts everyone. With Warren and Klobuchar in the debates, childcare remained an issue on the table. Moreover, though Warren didn’t frame her thoughts on gender-based harassment around policy oriented solutions, she did spotlight it on multiple occasions. Although gender-work-family justice issues went largely under-examined throughout this primary, these issues were mentioned more by female candidates than by male candidates. This analysis illustrates that the discourse around certain issues relies, in part, on who is on the stage.

During the 2019-2020 presidential primary season, voters watched the most diverse array of candidates enter the race. The identities of these presidential hopefuls informed their personal experiences, and likely influenced their policy priorities and interests. This debate cycle showed that when women and people of color had the mic, they used their power to speak out and stand up for the issues impacting workers and families, laying the groundwork for equitable policies and practices.