Attacks around Kamala Harris' parenthood status have reignited debate that female leaders can be judged in ways their male peers are not. 1News looks at why society seems more interested in the family lives of women politicians.
Republican attacks on Kamala Harris were inevitable as soon as it became clear the US Vice President would be the Democrats' candidate for the November election.
Some of those attacks have centred on Harris' parenting. While she says she's a proud "Momala" to her husband's two children, some Republicans and their supporters have said her lack of biological children makes her unfit to lead.
An old clip of Donald Trump's running mate JD Vance describing some Democrats as "a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable in their own lives" has resurfaced, while Will Chamberlain, who worked on Ron DeSantis' election campaign, tweeted this week: "Really simple, underdiscussed reason why Kamala Harris shouldn't be President — no children."
Questioning closer to home
Questions and criticisms around parenthood status are nothing new for female political leaders.
Former New Zealand prime minister Dame Jacinda Ardern fielded questions about her family intentions almost immediately after assuming the leadership of the Labour Party in 2017.
She famously scolded Mark Richardson during a segment on the AM Show for talking about baby plans and saying employers "need to know that type of thing from the women you are employing".
Then-Labour leader Jacinda Ardern told TV host Mark Richardson it was “totally unacceptable” to ask women about potential parenthood in the workplace. (Source: Supplied)
Another former Labour prime minister, Helen Clark, also faced scrutiny about her family status, with her decision to not have children used against her in Parliament at times.
National's Judith Collins, for example, sent a press release in 2005 saying she couldn't attend the launch of a Families Commission survey because she was "too busy being a parent".
"It is ... a pity they've chosen to launch the programme on the day most parents, including myself, are tied up with their children's Saturday sport," Collins said at the time, adding that it showed "how out of touch Helen Clark and Labour are when it comes to family issues".
Meanwhile, across the Tasman, former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard experienced pointed comments about her lack of children during her own political career, including having a senator describe her as "deliberately barren".
Gillard later said that it was impossible for female politicians to win when it comes to the question of family.
"[If] you do not have children, you are characterised as out of touch with mainstream lives. If you do have children, people want to know: 'Heavens, who's looking after them while you run around in this business of politics?'"
Male politicians don't get the same intrusion into their family lives, says Professor Jennifer Curtin, an expert in politics and public policy at the University of Auckland.
"Even when [men] have children as prime ministers, that's the norm and the assumption is someone [else is] at home looking after them," she said.
"The gender stereotypes about who does most of the caregiving for the children, women tend to still get asked that on the campaign trail."
When Dame Jacinda discovered she was pregnant days before becoming prime minister in 2017, she faced questions about whether she would be up to the job alongside new motherhood. When Simon Bridges became leader of the National Party shortly after, he did not face the same questions about juggling the job and parenting despite also welcoming a new baby to his family around the same time.
The 'old maid brigade'
Curtin said JD Vance's quip about "childless cat ladies" in US politics from 2021 had echoes of tactics rolled out long ago against other female leaders.
"In the early turn of last century into the 1920s in America, they were setting up their version of the welfare state ... and the first agency chief was a [childless] woman and she and her successor were called 'female celibates'; [people] used this term the 'old maid brigade'," she said.
"This thing that some people who don't believe women should be in politics has a long history."
Curtin said there would be many Republican women who would be horrified by some of the rhetoric currently being used in the US.
"I really think that it's not necessarily the norm, but we live in a populist moment ... which allows for this kind of speech; it's been given license and it's almost been deemed OK," she said.
Curtin said mainstream New Zealand politics probably wouldn't tolerate the same level of criticisms currently being levelled at Vice President Harris.
"But we know from [Jacinda] Ardern's experience, and we know from the work that's being done on misinformation and disinformation by some of our researchers here in New Zealand that there's a strong misogynist dimension to a lot of the more extreme, incel, anti-women type political rhetoric."
Certain barriers remain
Curtin said the question of family status can still be a stumbling block for aspiring female politicians in New Zealand.
"The [candidate] selection procedures are still more hidden, but we know anecdotally that some women who stand for seats still get asked by some of the selectors, 'Well, who's going to look after the children?'" she said.
"We know that there are still cultures within the political parties within New Zealand that are not always friendly or places that women want to be.
"I think there [are] still clear barriers and that would include pre-motherhood, motherhood or non-motherhood."
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