"Eighteen Million Cracks": Gender's Role in the 2008 Presidential Campaign

In light of the 2008 presidential campaign, Gregory S. Parksand Jeffrey J. Rachlinski wrote an extensive analysis, titled A BetterMetric, likening the campaign to an interview process and hiringdecision for a high-ranking job. Though unpublished, their workspawned a number of published articles, book chapters, and a bookon the role of unconscious race and gender bias in the evaluations ofPresident Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and Secretaryof State Hillary Clinton. In light of the analogy between voting andhiring decisions, this article argues that questions about sexism andgender bias along the campaign trail implicate the law. Title VII ofthe Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects individuals from gender bias inthe workplace.

While modern conceptions of how such bias actuallyoperates, largely drawn from social and cognitive psychology, shouldaid legal decision-makers in determining whether bias indeed occurredin any particular case, greater insight into the intersection of psychologyand the law is needed. Here, we explore the roles that sexism andimplicit, or unconscious, gender bias played in the 2008 presidentialrace, analyzing these factors through the lens of Title VII. Further, webuttress the proposition put forth by a growing body of legal scholarsthat the role of implicit attitudes in decision-making has significantimplications for Title VII jurisprudence.