Trust is key, it's more than just a colloquialism. It is an accurate description of the skills required for much of life, including success in politics. This is becoming a big problem, however, because women have been found to have much lower levels of confidence than their male counterparts (Sutton). This prevents women from having the ambition to enter politics. Women do not have enough confidence to succeed in the political sphere due to sexism and traditional family roles, which greatly change the way public policies are initiated, treated and understood. To solve this problem, women must receive support and gender roles and stereotypes of men and women must be changed. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Women don't enter politics because they believe they don't have what it takes. A study conducted by Jennifer Lawless and Richard Fox found that “women are only half as likely as men to think they would be electorally successful if they ran for office” (Lawless and Fox 116-117). The same study showed that, when asked about the potential skills required for political success, “women are less likely than men to perceive themselves as possessing that ability” (Lawless and Fox 117). These perceptions lead to lower levels of political ambition. A woman who believes she is not qualified to run for office “is about half as likely to express political ambitions as a similarly situated man (Lawless and Fox 121). This model also emerges in other areas. A new body of research has shown that “men are in fact safer than women (Sutton). This “confidence gap” is allowing men to outperform women in myriad areas. The first step in bridging this gap is to determine its source. The “trust gap” is influenced by several factors. The first of which is directly related to this gap in policy. Women are less safe due to the sexism still present in this area. Women still face harsh criticism when running for office. The media calls them “too ambitious,” “too hard,” “too soft,” and a host of other harsh criticisms (Kornblut 5-50). When Sarah Palin ran for office she was called “the idiotic beauty queen” and also blatantly as a sexual object (Kornblut 103,114). Unfortunately, these opinions are not only found in the media. “25% of the US population still says men are emotionally better suited to politics” (Paxton, Kunovich, and Huges 271). With this sexism still prevalent in society, it is difficult for women to maintain confidence in themselves and others. This sexism is not only present in the political sphere. It all starts much earlier. Women's confidence is greatly influenced by their upbringing. This is due to the gender psyche. The gendered psyche is “a deeply ingrained imprint that drives men into politics, but regulates women to the periphery of the electoral arena” (Lawless and Fox 12). The gendered psyche builds up during childhood, when traditional gender roles are established. This can be seen through the presence of political conversations. The study conducted by Lawless and Fox showed that “women were 15% less likely than men to have their parents encourage them to run for office” and, even at a more basic level, “they were almost 20% less likely to have this father.” talk to them about politics” (Lawless and Fox 67). These differences are representative of the “models oftraditional gender socialization that promote greater suitability of men to enter the political sphere” (Lawless and Fox 67). Women who do not receive this support at home do not have the same confidence in their abilities when they enter politics. Studies have shown that areas with more traditional cultures have fewer women in politics (Paxton, Kunovich, and Hughes 271). It is this atmosphere that causes women to have less self-confidence, which has a significant impact on politics. Women focus on different aspects of politics when in office. This means they push different bills and vote differently than their male counterparts. One study showed that “female senators are more likely than men to prioritize issues related to health care, the environment, and education” (Fridkin and Kenney 11). Another study showed that “female parliamentarians prioritized bills affecting children and family more often than men (Thomas 967). In general, women have been found to be more liberal and use a wider range of resources in developing new policy (Carroll 977). These differences are reflected in how female parliamentarians vote. Women are “more likely to vote for bills addressing women's issues” (Paxton, Kunovich, and Hughes 273). These differences mean that women in office will lead to the passage of different laws. Therefore, the trust barrier that prevents women from running for office has a large-scale impact. Not only do women propose different bills, but the bills and ideas they have are handled differently. Both lawmakers and the media treat bills and ideas differently based on the gender of the person proposing them. “Reporters and editors favor male senators over female senators in terms of the number of paragraphs written, the importance of coverage, and the accuracy with which they represent messages from senators' offices” (Fridkin and Kenney 11). This means that much of what female senators have to say is ignored or distorted by the media. Likewise, “bills sponsored by women receive more scrutiny, debate, and hostile testimony than bills sponsored by men” (Paxton, Kunovich, and Hughes 274). When bills and ideas coming from women are treated differently, it impacts what becomes policy. One solution to the trust gap in women, especially in politics, is to offer support and recruitment. Women are more likely to be confident in their abilities if they have someone else supporting them. “If all women in the pool of eligible candidates were advised to run for office…then…the gender gap in considering a candidacy would decrease considerably” (Lawless and Fox 148). One group of organizations that has done an exceptional job of encouraging women is the women's organization. These organizations have been proven to drive real change. Women contacted by these organizations are statistically more likely to advance in the political arena (Lawless and Fox 105). Women's organizations offer support and reinforce the idea that women are capable of success. This feedback is critical for women to overcome the confidence gap. This has been demonstrated even at a basic level. A recent study examined the results of positive feedback given to men and women and the resulting change in confidence. In reference to women's confidence levels, the study demonstrated that “they can be equal to men in the presence of externally mediated feedback” (McCarty 841). The study.