Media Watch Assignment

Teresa Sayward
12 April 2012

When I get the opportunity to do research I like to take advantage and look into something I don't know much about. Politics is not my filed of expertise, but I am certain that I disagree with a lot of views of the Republican party. For this reason I looked at different article of Republican women and one stood out to me, Teresa Sayward. There aren't too many recent articles about her. She recently retired after what seems to be successful years of service as the New York State Assemblywoman. She was more recently referenced in the news because of a comment she made about voting for Obama in the upcoming elections.
With a focus on woman leaders I found it interesting how the articles described her and her role as a leader. In the articles referring to her position as an assemblywoman she was praised for a job well done. What was notable was the exact actions and characteristics she was praised for. Sayward is recognized in the article in Lake Placid News for "listening", being "available to her constituents", and being "a model of ethics". The other article in The Post-Star states she will be remembered for her "advocacy", "compassion", and "commitment". We have discussed in class how more woman leaders will bring different traits and practices into those roles. In the arena of politics Teresa Sayward was praised as a woman leader for her advocacy, her involvement, and her ethics.
She has proven to be a good representation of a woman leader by her defense in saying that she might vote for President Obama in the upcoming elections. We have defined a good woman leader as someone that listens and empowers others. As a republican she is concerned with the recent debates on women's healthcare and the stand that the Republican Party has taken on the debate. I would identify her as a transformative leader because she justifies wanting to vote for Obama by saying "Good government is a lot of diverse people coming together with a lot of ideas. And you have to meet in the middle, and sometimes you don't get everything you want. But if you get something that's going to help the people, I don't think you can remain closed minded." She still supports the main Republican ideals of less government and less taxes, but she is aware of the mainstream social issues and has defined herself as a legitimate leader in oprder to address these issues.
Teresa Sayward is a great example of how women can lead in a different way than men. Eagly and Carli mentioned many of the traits and characteristics that Sayward has in the way that women lead differently. I attempted to search an article with negative comments about her to have a better understanding of who she is. However, all of the articles I found commended her on a job well done. She had a successful career in office and she did this without being corrupt and by being involve (physicallly there in the community) which is similar to the prototype that Eagly and Carli say woman leaders are likely to be.