Women and Politics

Cross-posted from the Women’s Media Center Blog

To commemorate the launch of the Name It. Change It. campaign, WMC Cofounder and Board Member Gloria Steinem issued the following statement on equality:

The most workable definition of equality for journalists is reversibility. Don’t mention her young children unless you would also mention his, or describe her clothes unless you would describe his, or say she’s shrill or attractive unless the same adjectives would be applied to a man. Don’t say she’s had facial surgery unless you say he dyes his hair or has hair plugs….and so on. Don’t say she’s just out of graduate school, but he’s a young Turk or that she’s someone’s protégée but he’s a rising star…

By extension, don’t say someone is a Muslim unless you also identify Christians and Jews, or identify only some people by race, ethnicity or sexuality and not others. However, this does NOT mean being even-handedly positive or negative when only one person or side has done something positive or negative. Equality allows accuracy.

This post was submitted by Rebecca Freedholm, WCF Communications Fellow

It was another long night in primary elections, as WCF-endorsed candidates Penny Kotterman, Millie Herrera, and Deb Markowitz encountered highly contentious races.  

After her victory in last night’s primary election, Penny Kotterman is one step closer in her race to become Superintendent of Public Instruction in Arizona. Kotterman’s campaign must now continue this momentum in preparation for the general election this November.

This fall, Kotterman will face Republican nominee and Arizona State Senator John Huppenthal. For many voters, choosing between these two candidates will be a no-brainer. Kotterman has been an educator for over 30 years and has established an impressive record of teaching students, developing education policy, and improving the profession of education for both new and experienced teachers. She has also served as the president of the Arizona Education Association for 6 years, during which she has worked with Governors as well as three Superintendents of Public Instruction to formulate crucial policies in Arizona education. While Kotterman’s opponent may have experience as a state legislator, he has no where near the level of expertise and devotion to teaching that Penny Kotterman has.

Millie Herrera also reeled in a victory in her primary last night, and now advances in her race for State Representative of Florida’s 114th District. As a mother, activist, and business leader, Herrera serves her community in a number of significant capacities. She was formerly the president of the Democratic Hispanic Caucus of Florida, and empowered the Hispanic community in Florida to participate in the electoral process. Herrera has also been a leader as the Vice Chair of the Kendall Community Council, an Advisory Board Member to the Girl’s Advocacy Project, and as a Guardian-ad-Litem providing support for abandoned, neglected, and abused children. Herrera is a tireless advocate for her community, and will continue to dedicate herself to public service once elected to Florida’s State House of Representatives.

Up in Vermont, Deb Markowitz is still awaiting primary results for her bid for Governor. This race is extremely tight and will likely not be decided until every vote is counted—and possibly even recounted. Currently, Markowitz is within reach of the leading candidate. Unless this margin widens, this race may not be decided until September.

Penny Kotterman, Millie Herrera, and Deb Markowitz are all inspiring, accomplished leaders. WCF hopes you will join us in helping these women attain victory in elections again this November.

This post was submitted by Rebecca Freedholm, WCF Communications Fellow

It’s been sixteen years since Miami-Dade County has elected a new Commissioner, but now that the long time incumbent has stepped down, county politics will finally get a fresh face. The race for Miami-Dade County Commissioner has become the most contested county race this year, with six candidates vying for the office. Of these candidates, Annette Taddeo has emerged as the leader most apt to provide the county with a new and unique perspective.

Raised in both Colombia and the United States with both Italian and Colombian heritage, Taddeo characterizes her story as “classic American—building on a diverse background to achieve success and prepare for the challenges of the future.” Drawing from her diverse background and entrepreneurial spirit, Taddeo became the Founder and CEO of LanguageSpeak, a comprehensive language services company offering translations, conference interpretation, and private tutoring in over 100 languages.

In addition to her role as a successful businesswoman, Taddeo has served as an inspiring leader of several organizations, and is especially committed to women’s organizations. She is a national founding partner and Executive Board Member of WIPP (Women Impacting Public Policy), and previously served as the Chair of the Women’s Enterprise National Council’s Leadership Forum. She is also a member of the exclusive Committee of 200, the Belizean Grove’s TARA’s (Today’s Already Rising Achievers), Women Corporate Directors (WCD), and NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners). She has also won several awards from the Latina community, including the WIPP Entrepreneurial Diversity Award and the “Latina Excellence Award” from Hispanic Magazine.

As a prominent leader among business owners, women, and minority communities, Taddeo will surely bring a refreshing and unique perspective to public office. Most importantly, however, as Commissioner she will continue to dedicate herself to the people of Miami-Dade County:

“My leadership style and perspective—shaped by decades of real-world experience as a business leader and a life lived outside of politics, make me uniquely qualified to be your next commissioner. I am running for the County Commission in District 8 to make sure that the people are first and always have a seat at the table. I will be the voice for the real bosses, the hard working taxpayers of Miami-Dade County.”

If elected as Miami-Dade County Commissioner, Taddeo will provide a strong voice for her community and will work hard to fight for what is right. WCF recognized Annette Taddeo’s potential from the beginning of her political career, and we are proud to continue our support for her through tomorrow’s election and beyond.

This post was submitted by Rebecca Freedholm, WCF Communications Fellow

Tomorrow, Tuesday August 24th, Vermont Secretary of State Deb Markowitz will face a highly competitive five-way Democratic primary in the race to become Governor of Vermont. Although this is an exceedingly tight race, Markowitz has the energy, the enthusiasm, and the experience to come out on top.

Markowitz is not a stranger to challenging political races—she’s won six statewide elections against both Republican and Progressive opponents. In her first bid for elected office she beat a two-term incumbent to become the first woman elected as the Secretary of State of Vermont.

Now entering her twelfth year as Secretary of State, Markowitz has built an impressive record of achievement in Vermont. She has ameliorated the process of starting and expanding businesses in Vermont, effectively undertaken an ambitious election reform agenda, and proved to be a champion of open and accountable government. She has also implemented a crucial Safe at Home program to protect victims of domestic violence from being tracked down through public records.

Markowitz has consistently demonstrated her commitment to serving the people of Vermont. That is why she has gained endorsements from city and town officials all throughout the state. Six Burlington City Council Members provided a confident statement about Markowitz’s qualifications with their endorsement:

“Deb has proven her effectiveness as a chief executive. We will all greatly benefit by allowing her to implement her policies of efficiency, effectiveness, and practical problem-solving across all of Vermont. Most importantly, she is the candidate who is most likely to beat Brian Dubie in November’s general election because she is energetic, engaging, passionate and has broad appeal highlighted by her six statewide victories, including winning every single city and town in Vermont. She is the candidate who sees the big picture rather than focusing on a single issue or ideology. Local government, and all Vermonters, are confronting many challenges right now and will continue to do so in the near future. Deb Markowitz is the partner we need because when she sees a problem, she solves it.”

City and town officials are not the only people showing support for Markowitz—“1,812 Vermonters from 177 cities and towns across the state have invested in her campaign.” Markowitz’s grassroots fundraising efforts have been enormous, and her “neighbor-to-neighbor outreach program” may provide her with the momentum she needs to achieve victory on Tuesday.

Markowitz is a brilliant and hardworking leader for Vermont and WCF is certain that she is the candidate most capable of serving her state as Governor. Tomorrow’s gubernatorial primary may, however, be one of the most contested races that Vermont has ever seen. Markowitz will need plenty of support in this election, and WCF hopes you will join us in standing behind this wonderful Vermont leader.

This post was submitted by Rebecca Freedholm, WCF Communications Fellow

Earlier this week, WCF President/CEO Siobhan “Sam” Bennett appeared on Fox News to offer her expertise on how voter dissatisfaction with the current administration will affect the 2010 midterm elections.

In a segment entitled “The Blame Game,” Steve Doocy claims that constituent’s discontentment with the economy and unemployment may lead voters to turn to the GOP during this midterm election cycle. According to Doocy, Republicans and Democrats are engaged in a “blame game,” each faulting the other for the current state of the economy.

While Doocy and David Winston, President of the Winston Group and advisor to the House Republican Conference, discussed how partisan politics will play out in the upcoming elections, Bennett suggested that frustrated voters may want to turn their attention elsewhere:

“Bottom Line—the voters are mad, and you’re absolutely right: it’s all about the economy, it’s all about jobs. And, again, we’re ranked 86th in the world in the number of women in elected office. Vote for a woman and you’ve got someone that voters trust and presents a fresh face to the electorate.”

The fact of the matter is that representation of Republicans and Democrats in Congress has been relatively balanced for a long time. If voters really want change, they should focus on getting more women candidates elected. Women currently hold only 17% of the seats in Congress, even though research shows that women’s unique leadership style has a positive influence on decision making.

People who are dissatisfied with the decisions coming out of Washington these days need to concentrate less on partisan politics in this election cycle and more on ushering in “a fresh face” to Congress. Women’s different perspectives and powerful modes of leadership may likely prove to be the key to improving our economy.

As Bennett asserts, “Women are unusually well-positioned in this election cycle.” Women candidates will, however, require voters’ help in getting elected to office in November. Join WCF in supporting strong women leaders during midterm elections so that they can enact important changes in Congress.

This post was submitted by Rebecca Freedholm, WCF Communications Fellow.

Aaron Guerrero from The Daily Caller believes that Republican women candidates may not ultimately have the banner electoral year they had hoped for. Citing the recent primary losses of Karen Handel in Georgia and Jane Norton in Colorado, Guerrero theorizes that some GOP women’s “heavy emphasis on gender” may thwart their endeavors to reach public office.

The surge of Republican women contending for their party’s nomination in this election cycle has led many to deem 2010 “The Year of the GOP Woman.” Indeed, the GOP has seen an impressive increase in the number of female candidates competing in this year’s primary elections: There are 14 female Republicans running for seats in the U.S. Senate and 94 striving for positions in the House (numbers that more than double those from 2008).

Women are vastly underrepresented in all levels of public office, so this recent rise in female political participation is an exciting and encouraging sign of change. Why, then, does Guerrero instruct these GOP women to shy away from “discussions on gender?”

“Other candidates should stick to the formula that has worked for other women within the GOP. Talk up your professional background or unique personal history, portray yourself as a political outsider, and above all else, largely avoid discussions on gender.”

Guerrero fails to recognize that discussions on a female candidate’s personal history, professional background, and identity as a political outsider can never fully exclude “discussions on gender.” As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said, “There are life experiences a woman has that come from growing up in a woman’s body that men don’t have.”

The fact that women have unique life experiences makes it imperative that we fight to achieve gender parity in our political system. These experiences inform women differently and inevitably drive them to assume different perspectives and modes of leadership. Furthermore, research reveals that women’s unique leadership style has a positive influence on decision-making across many fields.

Our government cannot adequately represent all citizens if it doesn’t include women’s diverse perspectives in its legislative process. Considering the lack of female representation—especially Republican female representation—that our government is currently experiencing, it would seem more apt to instruct women candidates to emphasize discussions on gender rather than to obscure them.

The only examples (and there are only two of them) of campaigns impeded by discussions of gender that Guererro offers are those which focused on stereotypical artifacts of femininity—lipstick, purses, and high heels. And in the case of Jane Norton, the focus on superficial aspects of gender identity was instigated by an appalling sexist comment made by her opponent, who claimed that he was more qualified than Norton because he did not wear high heels.

If women candidates fall short in this year’s election cycle, it may likely be because the majority of Americans fail to realize that gender parity in public office is a substantive issue.

Whether we resort to antiquated stereotypes or apathetically maintain that gender is a non-issue in politics, we are not doing enough to ensure that all American people are adequately represented and served by our political system.

I deeply hope that this record year in women candidacy is only the beginning of women’s increased political participation.

This post was submitted by Rebecca Freedholm, WCF Communications Fellow.

After an impressive performance in last night’s primary election, Suzan DelBene now continues in her race to become the Congressional Representative for Washington’s 8th District.

DelBene is not a stranger to leadership—she has been an innovative, real-world leader as an entrepreneur and technology executive for over 20 years. Having guided some of the most prominent companies in the world—including Microsoft—DelBene has the skills necessary to pioneer solutions to Washington’s toughest challenges:

“I’m running for Congress because I believe we’ve reached a pivotal moment in the history of this region and our nation. Critical issues—unemployment, health care, and climate change; our broken financial system, struggling education system, and crumbling infrastructure—demand thoughtful leadership and forceful action.”

DelBene’s demonstrated experience in business provides her with the critical knowledge needed to generate new jobs and businesses, to ensure fiscal accountability, and to enact policies that will allow her constituents and their businesses to prosper.

DelBene has personal experience with the hardships Washington citizens are facing during this difficult economic recession. While growing up, her family faced serious financial insecurity, and she learned “that jobs are more than just money—they are a source of pride, confidence, dignity, and identity.” DelBene is deeply invested in the individual and collective struggles of her constituents and has what it takes to get her community back on track:

“What the 8th District needs today is someone with real-world leadership experience who understands how to solve problems, create opportunities, and get things done. We also need someone who recognizes the value of working with people who come from different backgrounds and bring different points of view. And we need someone who is committed to representing the entire 8th District and learning from all of its citizens.”

As she advances to the November general election, DelBene joins another inspiring Washington leader—Senator Patty Murray. Both of these women will be incredible leaders for Washington, and WCF hopes you will join us in supporting these candidates this fall.