Women and Politics

Cross-posted from Women’s Media Center and Huffington Post

Women leaders have shown they know how to work together, whether it’s in the public or private sector. Women’s Campaign Forum President Sam Bennett describes a new initiative to put enough women in office this year to overcome the political impasse plaguing our nation’s lawmakers.
I know I’m not the only one to find myself watching the news in disbelief day after day. We listen to pundits, elected officials, and even the vice president call our government “broken.” This sentiment was only reinforced at last week’s White House health care summit when the partisan stalemate continued—only four women had been invited.

Who’s at fault and how do we get out of the seemingly endless deadlock? Some dare to argue that men are to blame. Somewhat earlier in the health care debate, Representative Carol Shea-Porter said of her sister House members: “We go to the ladies room, and we just roll our eyes at what’s being said out there. And the Republican women said when we were fighting over the health care bill, if we sent the men home, we could get this done this week.”

A bold statement? Yes. But studies have shown that women, who hold only 90 out of 535 seats in Congress, legislate differently—often being more collaborative and ensuring more win-win outcomes—than men. Women in the House and Senate stood together against the Nelson and Stupak amendments, just as women’s organizations banded together to ensure health care reform’s effectiveness and prevent the elimination of any existing rights.

And it’s not just women asserting that we need more women in public office. For our Women’s Campaign Forum (WCF) Parties of Your Choice Gala in New York next Thursday, we’ve gathered prominent leaders from the fields of business, media, theater, politics, fashion, and publishing. Folks like NFL Executive Vice President Jeff Pash, The View co-host Sherri Shepherd, musician/singer-songwriter Moby, former 60 Minutes Executive Editor Philip Scheffler, fashion designer Vivienne Tam, and actor Alexander Chaplin will come together to support the need to increase women’s political representation.

These WCF events have mobilized supporters from across the country for three decades now. But this year, it’s with a much greater sense of urgency. To underline the need right now to elect more women to fix our broken government, we will debut our national awareness campaign (Who Needs More Women in Government? Everyone.) via a performance piece written by and starring a broad array of female leaders. Performers—including former CEO Christie Hefner, WNBA President Donna Orender, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth “Liz” Shuler, and Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner—will be perched on ladders in the middle of Christie’s Auction House at the gala reception to command attention in a launch of a campaign designed to disturb the complacency of our nation.

Most people, when hearing that the U.S. ranks 84^th in the world, behind Afghanistan and Cuba, in the percentage of women in the national legislature, are briefly surprised—“Oh wow, I didn’t think it was that bad”—but the thought process stops there. We need everyone to realize the true weight of this disparity: That women’s political inequality isn’t just a “shame.” It’s actually halting progress and damaging our country.

As Womenomics authors Katty Kay and Claire Shipman point out, research has shown the many benefits of having more women at the decision-making table—leading to a wake-up call among many U.S. companies. In addition to focusing on collaboration, women seek out long-term results and tend to take fewer risks. The positive results of women’s leadership can be demonstrated by corporations’ performance: “By all measures, more women in your company means better performance. Pepperdine [University] found that the Fortune 500 firms with the best records of putting women at the top were 18 to 69 percent more profitable than the median companies in their industries.”

Considering we’re currently at war, suffering from a severe economic recession, and unable to fix a broken health care system, I have to ask: When will our political system acknowledge women’s unique ability to enact change?

Given our current state of wheel-spinning and political gridlock, it would behoove us to make 2010 another Year of the Woman—one that this time will have staying power. (We harked back to that historic 1992 election year for the cover of our gala invitation, which shows women walking up steps on the Hill.) And yes, we need more women on both sides of the aisle. That’s why WCF works to recruit female candidates from all parties, across the country, at all levels of office. But as we’ve learned with Sarah Palin, not all women support reproductive health choices, and we acknowledge that finding a Republican candidate who will stand up for women’s health can be difficult. Yet the country is hungry for female moderate Republican candidates who will do just that.

WCF currently has more than 30 endorsed candidates for 2010—18 of whom are running for Congress. And we only expect those numbers to increase, as more applications flood in every week. But will we really move the needle on women’s unequal representation this November, or even this decade?

The Women’s Campaign Forum has been in the game for 36 years now and endorsed thousands of women. When we were founded, there were no female senators and 16 congresswomen. Since 1974, the percentage of women in Congress has gone from three to 17 percent—only a 14 percent increase. Today we have organizations all over the country working to elect more women, yet our progress has stagnated. Many estimate that at our current rate of growth, it will take more than 70 years to achieve political gender equality.

So what’s it going to be, America? Will we continue to stand agape at our broken government the way children stare at a broken toy, or will we answer the wake-up call and elect more women?

This post was submitted by Jean Qiao, WCF Communications Fellow

WCF applauds Rep. Julie Hamos and Cheryle Jackson for two well-run campaigns. Thank you for taking the brave step of running for federal office and setting an example to women all around the country.

In a hard-fought race for the slot as the Democratic candidate for Congress in Illinois’ 10th congressional district, Julie Hamos was defeated by a mere 500 votes, with 99% of all precincts reporting. We hope that Hamos will continue to run for public office, as we desperately need experienced women who are dedicated to protecting women’s reproductive freedoms.

In spite of extreme media scrutiny, Cheryle Jackson ran a strong campaign for U.S. Senate. As a personal victim of the current lackluster health care system, Jackson serves as a fresh voice to U.S. politics. In her concession speech last night, Jackson said:

“Tonight we are here for a different kind of victory. Maybe not the victory we wanted but I view tonight as still a victory. I jumped into this race to give a voice to everyday people. People who are often overlooked by government”.

Women win and lose elections at the same rate of men. However, 50% less women even consider running, with only a fraction making the decision to become a candidate or run for higher office.

Research shows that women must be asked to run at least six times before they seriously consider running for public office. With only 17% of Congress being women, we must ensure that more women all across the country are running for office.

We only lose when women don’t run. Ask a woman you know today to run for office!

We are very proud of our endorsed candidates for their desire to bring about change, and strongly encourage them to run again, and for higher office, in the future.

This post was submitted by Jean Qiao, WCF Communications Fellow

Last night Robin Kelly took her first step to becoming the next Illinois State Treasurer.

Her proven record of success and integrity earned her the Democratic nomination in yesterday’s primary. Robin served as the representative for the Illinois 38th legislative district in the State Assembly before being appointed to Chief of Staff of the current State Treasurer.

Throughout her time serving in public office, Robin has continuously proven herself as a strong advocate for the Illinois citizens. Congratulations, Robin, on a well-deserved victory.

She will face Republican Senator Dan Rutherford in November’s general election.

Click here to learn more about Kelly or get involved in her campaign.

This post was submitted by Jean Qiao, WCF Communications Fellow

President Obama and many other candidates have been motivated by the desire for change. And candidate for Illinois State Treasurer Robin Kelly is no different.

Kelly has made helping people her number one priority throughout her career. She is a trusted leader in her community and will bring true change—especially when it comes to government transparency and safeguarding citizens’ tax dollars.

Kelly’s desire to bring about change led her to run for the Illinois general assembly in 2002, when she challenged and defeated a 10-year incumbent candidate in the race. During her tenure as representative of the 38th district of Illinois, Kelly continuously proved herself a strong advocate for the citizens of her district—she was a proud sponsor of landmark legislation to protect victims of domestic violence.

Currently, Kelly holds the top non-elected position in the state Treasurer’s office, Chief of Staff. In her role, Kelly directly supervises all departments in the Treasurer’s office as well as manages and administers the state budget to state and local funds.

As State Treasurer, Kelly has a record of providing transparency and responsibility. In a recent interview with the Windy City Times, she stated that she hopes to continue serving with integrity:

“I have a proven track record of putting people first. This office requires continued transparency because, as treasurer, we invest $14 billion each day of taxpayers’ money. As chief of staff to our current Treasurer I have helped contribute to the success of this office. We have responsibly managed and invested taxpayer’s money with more transparency than ever before”

Kelly’s hands-on experience in managing finances as well as her desire to help families across the state makes her the best candidate for the position. In one of the worst economies since 1939, it is obvious that Robin has both the experience and dedication needed to serve as Illinois State Treasurer.

Click here to learn more about Kelly or get involved with her campaign.

This post was submitted by Jean Qiao, WCF Communications Fellow

The Illinois primary is only one week away, and the pressure is on for candidates vying to win the democratic primary. The beginning of 2010 has not been an easy ride for the Democratic Party. With the recent defeat of Martha Coakley, healthcare reform has been put in severe jeopardy—which will directly affect millions of women. Now more than ever, we need strong women serving in U.S. Congress.

IL State Representative Julie Hamos is seeking nomination to be the democratic candidate for Congress in Illinois’ 10th district. Hamos has been a strong proponent for women’s rights for over 30 years, even before being elected to serve as State Senator of Illinois. Prior to serving in public office, she wrote the first laws to protect battered women and co-founded the Illinois State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

In addition, Hamos fought to secure safe shelters for battered women and children in Illinois. With the upcoming reauthorization of the Violence against Women Act, her knowledge and experience with the issue will help ensure a comprehensive act that will protect victims of domestic violence.

Hamos is also a strong advocate of a public health insurance policy that ensures coverage for everyone. With the recent loss of the crucial 60th vote for health care, there is no better time to elect someone who is as knowledgeable and passionate about the issue.

Julie is staunchly against the recently defeated Stupak-Pitts amendment, which if passed, would severely limit women’s access to reproductive care. On Stupak, she said:

“I fundamentally disagreed with the inclusion of the Stupak Amendment into the health care reform bill that would deny women access to reproductive health care. This amendment represents a major step backwards in the fight for reproductive freedoms and its very inclusion in the bill is a stark reminder of why we need strong Democratic women in Congress now as much as ever.”

Out of the 435 members in the House of Representatives, only 76 are women. In a time when members of Congress are jumping at every opportunity to limit women’s reproductive freedoms, we need leaders like Julie Hamos.

This post was submitted by Jean Qiao, WCF Communications Fellow

How many U.S. Senators have ever been without health insurance? Or ever had to suffer a difficult illness while uninsured?

My guess is not many. Yet our Congress is working to reform our health care system to provide coverage for those without insurance—a situation they have never experienced.

If elected, U.S. Senate candidate from Illinois Cheryle Jackson, would bring a fresh and necessary voice to health care reform and our public leadership as a whole.

Cheryle Jackson is currently serving as President and CEO of the Chicago Urban League. She is the first female executive of the organization and during her time as President, she increased membership to 7,000 members and increased the League’s visibility and involvement in the city of Chicago.

From a young age, Cheryle understood the struggles that people faced as well as the importance of education, which contributed greatly to her successes with the Chicago Urban League later on in her life.

Her personal experience has shaped her views on health care reform. After being uninsured while enduring a grave illness, Cheryle has a deeper understanding of those who are uninsured. She is a strong supporter of the public option that will provide a government-run insurance plan to those who do not have insurance.

Cheryle is also determined to end the sexism that many insurance companies use in order to over-charge female customers and deny women coverage because of certain pre-existing conditions. With the recent loss of Ted Kennedy’s seat to Scott Brown, who promised to vote against President Obama’s healthcare bill, the need for strong voices to pass healthcare has never been more necessary.

At a time in which only 17 women serve in the U.S. Senate, there has been no greater need for more female voices. Women’s health hinges on the passage (or denial) of certain bills.

We need Cheryle Jackson to provide a stronger voice for women to ensure that our reproductive freedoms will not be taken away.

In a state that ranks 49^th for women’s political participation, Kim McMillan is truly a trailblazer.

She was the first female Majority Leader of the Tennessee State House, and now she’s running to become the first female Governor of the state.

When McMillan ran for Tennessee State House in 1994, there were only three women serving in the State Senate and 13 in the State House. With such a lack of female role models, what sparked McMillan’s motivation to run? Her children. She wanted to ensure they had every opportunity to be as successful as possible. She also realized the great need for female leadership in her state:

“I began to look at the state legislature and noticed there were very few women…and very few younger people. The last time I checked, we have a representative democracy and your state legislature should look like the population looks.”

With McMillan’s children being one and two years-old at the time, she faced questions and criticism about her decision to run. How will she do it? What about her law firm and husband? Her response was that every working mother faces the same challenging balancing act, whether they’re running for office or not.

“I wanted to show that you can do it. You can raise a family and have children who are successful. I tell women all the time when they ask me, ‘can you do it all’ – no you can never have it all. But you can do more than you think you can.”

She was also told, “Well, you’re a woman and that’ll be a detriment.” But despite these objections and being one of the few women in the state house, McMillan’s hard work, intelligence, and leadership earned her the respect of all her colleagues.

She was elected Majority Leader because everyone knew she would do the best job, regardless of her gender. However, she admits that being the underrepresented minority will always require you to work harder than others, and she promotes the idea of having all different voices represented in public office, including women.

“There are experiences and issues that women may have knowledge about that some of the male legislators just don’t have. It’s not because they don’t understand, it’s just that they haven’t dealt with or experienced it.”

For example, her first year in office there was a task force setup to tackle child care reform. But no one on the task force had young children, and all of them were men. McMillan thought that was a bit odd, so she took action to get onto the committee. She succeeded, and her experiences and ideas helped shape what probably ended up being a better reform for child care.

McMillan believes it’s important for women to step up and show that they can be successful to inspire even more women to get involved. But as we know, the political world continues to have prejudice toward women.

When I asked McMillan if she has encountered any sexism during her campaigns, she responded, “Oh, absolutely.” In fact recently, an anti-choice blog post criticized her hairstyle. She knows this kind of comment is made solely because of her gender, but doesn’t let it get to her.

“I believe that as women we can’t let that affect our efforts to move forward. Because it just doesn’t matter. I’m sorry those people don’t like my hairstyle, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m just going to keep moving forward and I’m just not going to let it affect my efforts to try to become governor of Tennessee.”

In regard to how heavily women candidates are criticized by their appearance, McMillan joked how if she were male, all she would have to do is buy six blue suits, some khaki pants and blue shirts: “Their biggest decision is what color tie am I going to wear?”

On the much more important matter of reproductive health choices, McMillan stated her beliefs in a very simple and true way:

“It is a decision to be made by the person who is actually being affected by that decision.”

In reaction to the issue of fundraising, McMillan admitted that people might be more likely to look at women candidates with less money more unfavorably than they would a male in the same position. However, she has always felt comfortable with her fundraising efforts.

“I’ve run seven races in the past and I have always had less funding than everyone else. I’ve never had a problem. I set goals that are reasonable. You don’t always have to have the most—you have to have enough to be viable.”

McMillan expressed gratitude for her Women’s Campaign Forum endorsement, and knows how much national support can mean to a campaign:

“Politics is a funny business, because oftentimes if people see that others believe in you, then they can believe in you too.”

McMillan is passionate about getting more women into public leadership, and knows we must overcome the ambition gap between men and women in running for office in the first place.

“It’s not that women are running and constantly getting beat, it’s that women don’t run in the first place. We have to tell women, you can succeed. You never know if you don’t try.”

And if there’s anyone who knows that women can succeed in a male-dominated field, it’s certainly Kim McMillan.