Why Some Women Pick Right Over Left

A lot of women hold top jobs on the right side of politics even though many young women say they lean left. This mix creates a puzzling picture that people like to discuss.

Historian Dominic Green says that when a nation feels stressed, voters often pick a woman leader from the right. He mentions Giorgia Meloni in Italy handling immigration and price rises, and Japan’s leader facing stagnation and a security threat from China. He also notes that the rise is not always about crisis, but about how a party chooses to appeal to young women.

Green says the main message parties give to young women is that they can have it all. Yet the women who balance career and family best are often religious and belong to the right. Examples include White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, second lady Usha Vance, and former swimmer Riley Gaines, all of whom have spouses and children. Leavitt said she would leave her job to raise her newborn daughter. In contrast, Representative Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez said she is freezing her eggs and posted about the double standards women face in politics and reproduction.

Green advises that we should invite these women in with generosity, not with strict ideological tests. He believes many women are more conservative than they think and that they may shape what leadership and having it all truly mean.