Women and Politics

This post was submitted by Sophie Shulman, WCF Communications Fellow

Earlier this week, Politics Daily released its “The Next 10 Women to Watch in Politics” list, highlighting women—other than Sarah Palin—who are likely to gain national attention in the upcoming elections. WCF-Endorsed Candidate, Terri Sewell, made the list as she campaigns for the opportunity to be the first elected Congresswoman from Alabama.

But Sewell’s impressive leadership isn’t news to us. She’s been on WCF’S list since the early days of her campaign, and we’re thrilled that she’s looking so strong heading into today’s Democratic runoff. Running in the heavily Democratic 7th district, today’s victor will likely win the general election in November. And, according to Chris Cillizza at the Fix, Sewell is the favorite to win. Indeed, Sewell was the vote leader in June’s primary, winning 36.8% of the vote. She’s also raised over seven times the amount of her opponent, Sheila Smoot.

Since her victory in June, Sewell has been collecting endorsements across the country. The Birmingham News Editorial Board recently came out in support of Sewell, arguing that:

“Sewell has the potential to be a fine, history-making congresswoman.”

She has also received campaign contributions from illustrious donors such as U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, showing Sewell’s national appeal and her proven record on progressive issues. Very early in her candidacy, Sewell also earned a ringing endorsement from women’s rights icon Lilly Ledbetter, who gained national fame for promoting pay equity in the workplace:

“Just as I was honored to support President Barack Obama for his historic election, I am happy to support Terri Sewell in her historic race to be the first woman in Alabama elected to Congress. She is best candidate to fight for the rights of all. My regret is that I can not vote for her but I can encourage others.”

These amazing women have reached out on Sewell’s behalf because they know that she’s the kind of woman we need in Congress—one who’s willing to fight for women’s issues, as she’s done throughout her legal career and in her personal life. But Sewell has also received help from Alabama’s elected officials and the people of Alabama—because she was born and raised in Selma and has shown her deep connection to her future constituents.

Here at WCF, we’re also extremely proud of Terri Sewell, and excited for her to shatter the next glass ceiling and become Alabama’s first elected Congresswoman. For months we’ve been working to help Sewell reach this point—and now’s the time for us to reach out, support Sewell, and support women everywhere.

It’s like an endless montage of network news gaffes on the Daily Show: Broken government, broken government, broken government. Only this isn’t so hilarious.

As Americans scramble to make ends meet and wait on bated breath for health care reform, they’re bombarded by accusations of who’s to blame for this mess. Democrats? Bush? Obama? The GOP?

Well, how about men? Considering they’re 83% of Congress, that’s a large group to blame. But it seems our Congresswomen would tend to agree with this sentiment. As Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (NH-1) shared last month:

“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.”

Shea-Porter has been raked over the coals for this comment, with many calling it sexist. But PunditMom on MOMocrats asks,

“Is it sexist if it’s true? For the most part, women are the ones dealing with care-giving issues for children, parents, in-laws, sisters, and extended family. How can lawmakers really weigh in on what’s needed to address these issues unless they’ve got first-hand experience with some of them?”

With men being over 4/5 of Congress, doesn’t math prove that they’re responsible for the majority of the deadlock? After all, it was the women who stood together against the Stupak and Nelson amendments. It’s the women’s organizations banding together to ensure that health care reform actually helps women and doesn’t strip away any existing rights.

With research rising about women’s positive impact on corporations, boards, and elected offices, it seems some are embracing the need to add more women to government…just not the U.S. As Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand alluded to in 2009, women tend to run for office because they want to get something done, while men just assume they can do the job and enjoy the blood sport of politics.

In a Washington Post article, Katty Kay and Claire Shipman pointed to research showing that Fortune 500 companies with more women at the top outperformed those that didn’t.

“Gender stereotypes aren’t politically correct, but the research broadly finds that testosterone can make men more prone to competition and risk-taking. Women, on the other hand, seem to be wired for collaboration, caution and long-term results.”

Research from the National Council for Research on Women confirms this, saying that women consider different issues and are more collaborative while making decisions, which leads to more win-win outcomes. But this can’t happen when there aren’t enough women at the table.

“When women do reach decision-making positions, it is not until they constitute a critical mass upwards of 30% that they are no longer perceived as representative of a special interest, but rather as full members of the group.”

And the current state of Congress proves this perfectly. With women only holding 17%, their thoughts and suggestions can easily be marginalized and ignored. We have 90 amazing women between the House and Senate, but despite their exemplary ideas and leadership, they can’t overcome their minority status.

So yes - maybe we should send the men home if we want to emerge from this quagmire any time soon. You don’t have to send them all home - just 355 to make it even: 90 women and 90 men.

This post was submitted by Jean Qiao, WCF Communications Fellow

Who needs more women in government? Everyone. Women make up 51% of the U.S. population; shouldn’t the federal government reflect that population in its elected officials? Sadly the U.S. Senate consists of only 17 women senators.

With the primary season already well underway, it is evident that 2010 will be a competitive election year for women. Current New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is facing a possible challenge by former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr. in the September Democratic primary.

But will New York voters accept this out-of-state candidate, when they already rely on Gillibrand’s leadership on issues like women’s rights?

Probably not. Harold Ford Jr. has proven that his stance on choice is anything but clear. Ford claims that he is “not pro-choice” and “pro-life” and his voting record on these issues show no clarification on his views. He has consistently supported stem-cell research and opposed the global gag rule but voted “yes” twice to ban partial-birth abortions. In addition, he supports the failed abstinence-only programs.

So Gillibrand, the incumbent, who has a strong record fighting for reproductive freedoms faces a challenger who cannot seem to differentiate between the two ends of the reproductive rights spectrum? The choice is pretty clear to me.

After being appointed to fill Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s seat in the Senate early last year, Sen. Gillibrand has been nothing but a powerhouse on women’s issues. She has sponsored and voted for various legislation that helps working mothers and their families. In addition, Gillibrand has been a strong supporter for President Obama’s healthcare plan and has fought to ensure that women’s reproductive freedoms are not excluded from healthcare coverage. In December of last year, Gillibrand was amongst the many outspoken leaders against the Stupak-Pitts amendment. Gillibrand is a proven leader and is the clear choice for New York State Senate.

Leaders of many women’s organizations agree with this sentiment. WCF President/CEO Sam Bennett was recently quoted in an article in the popular online news magazine The Daily Beast saying:

“Gillibrand has been a “trailblazer” on women’s issues, and that her organization and its donors will do ‘whatever’s necessary’ to get her reelected. I was just with a donor in New York the other day who said, ‘I supported Ford when he ran in Tennessee, he has a lot of nerve coming to my state now and asking me to vote for him instead of Kirsten.’”

It is no secret that women lack representation in the U.S. government. The narrow defeat of the Nelson-Hatch Amendment in December would most definitely not have happened if it weren’t for the outspoken women representatives in Congress. Electing women such as Kirsten Gillibrand is absolutely necessary to ensure that women’s issues are a priority in the U.S. government.

This post was written by WCF Fellow, Stephanie Glover

Yesterday, the Senate struck back in defense of women’s health. 54 senators voted to defeat the Nelson-Hatch Amendment to the health care bill—this bill paralleled the Stupak-Pitts Amendment in the House, which seeks to dramatically decrease the availability and affordability of reproductive health care.

A big shout out goes out to all the women of the Senate who worked so hard to defeat this measure. Women in the Senate voted overwhelmingly to reject the amendment—of the 17 female Senators, only two voted for the anti-choice measure. As you remember, earlier this week we heard Senators Boxer and Gillibrand make impassioned speeches in support of women’s health and against this egregious measure. Courageously, Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins crossed party lines as the only two Republicans to vote in support of women’s health.

Last week, we attended a rally on Capitol Hill where many members of Congress spoke in favor of women’s reproductive choices. Yesterday, the Senate responded to our demands for comprehensive health care reform. They signaled to the nation that women’s rights are worth fighting for and that good health care includes women.

Despite this promising vote, the outcome of health care reform remains uncertain. The Senate still has to vote on the overall bill (no date set yet) and once this is done the House and Senate must agree on a conference report that reflects the two bills. So, the fights not over. The status of women’s health under the new reforms could still remain in jeopardy! Take action: sign our petition, call your senators, and stand in support of women. Stupak-Pitts by any other name is still an affront to women’s rights.

This post was submitted by Jamie Bence, one of WCF’s Summer 2009 Fellows.

I think I may have just been witness to a milestone in the battle for gender parity: There are now enough women in the U.S. House and Senate to fill a softball team.  Moreover, they can play a team made up entirely of female staff members from the DNC and RNC!

Last night, I attended the first annual Congressional Women’s Softball Game.  Held in DC’s lovely Georgetown neighborhood, the game featured members and staff from the DNC and RNC- facing off in a (truly competitive) game.  It was an exciting night, and it all raised money for a great cause.

A few WCF-endorsed candidates showed off their athletic skills.  Kirsten Gillibrand proved to have an excellent pitching arm.  Florida’s Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz was a captain of the members’ team, but played a little too hard- fracturing her leg while sliding into second base (but nonetheless returned to work bright and early this morning)!  Speaker Pelosi stayed in the stands, but Senator Susan Collins, Representative Shelley Berkley and Grace Napolitano were in uniform for the event.

The game raised more than $41 thousand for Young Survival Coalition (YSC) which educates and supports young women living with breast cancer.  Though the spirit of bipartisanship ran deep for this worthy cause, the game, of course, had winners and losers.  In the end, the staffers won, 14-8.

This post was submitted by Jamie Bence, one of WCF’s Summer 2009 Fellows.

As the confirmation hearings for Sonia Sotomayor draw nearer, women from across the political spectrum have spoken out in favor of the prospective justice.  Kirstin Gillibrand recently wrote a column for the Huffington Post supporting her fellow New Yorker:

In Judge Sotomayor, we have a jurist whose life experience allows her to understand, respect, and connect with the people whose lives will be affected by the Court… Through discipline and hard work, Judge Sotomayor went on to graduate with honors from Princeton University and get her law degree from Yale Law School.

Gillibrand’s piece shows how Sotomayor brings diversity to the Supreme Court that extends beyond her gender or race. Her cumulative life experiences, from her humble beginnings, Ivy League education and rise through the legal community will bring a new perspective to the bench.

Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman appointed the Supreme Court, applauded Sotomayor’s nomination, and pointed out discrepancies between women’s preeminence in the legal field and their sparse representation on the nation’s highest bench:

Our nearest neighbor Canada also has a court of nine members and in Canada there’s a woman chief justice and there are four women all told… About half of all law graduates today are women, and we have a tremendous number of qualified women in the country who are serving as lawyers and they ought to be represented on the Court.

Moreover, O’Connor noted that she was disappointed when she stepped down from the bench and was not replaced by another woman.

Justice Ginsburg commented to CNN that she is “glad to no longer be the lone woman on the court.” She pointed specifically to the recent case of a 13 year old girl being stripped searched for ibuprofen as an example of an area where she felt her male colleagues could benefit from a female perspective.

Ginsburg made clear her belief that more women were needed on the court in the weeks leading up to Souter’s retirement. “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made,” she said. “It could be 60 percent men, 40 percent women, or the other way around. It shouldn’t be that women are the exception.”

Michelle Obama also came out in favor of her husband’s nominee, citing the parallels between their experiences as women of color educated in the Ivy League system:

[Sotomayor] said she never raised her hand her first year because she ‘was too embarrassed and too intimidated to ask questions’…despite all of her professional accomplishments, Judge Sotomayor says she still looks over her shoulder and wonders if she measures up.

However, the First Lady was hardly the only woman in the White House to welcome Sotomayor. Valerie Jarrett, in a recent interview with the Washington Post, defended Sotomayor against charges that she expressed superiority over white, male judges because of her life experiences:

“The spirit of her comment was one about diversity of perspective and enrichment of comment…And I think what the opponents are doing, they’re trying to find that one little kernel they find that they can criticize.”

These remarkable women, who have already established themselves as leaders in our political system, have praised Sotomayor and defended relentless attacks of her credentials. WCF hopes that this outpouring of support for Sotomayor continues through the confirmation process!

Mother’s Day provided an opportunity for women in politics to tell their stories of motherhood. Though I knew not many women give birth during their terms in office, I had no idea how few it really is: only seven women in U.S. history had babies while serving in Congress.

Kirsten Gillibrand and Herseth Sandlin are the most recent new mothers in Congress.  Luckily, they tell CNN they’re are able to rely on their friends and family for support.

“As all women do, we talk all the time,” said Gillibrand. “Any time you need advice, you know, who do you ask? You ask your girlfriends.”

Though they have the ability to determine their own scheduling, their time demands are very high, and they often find themselves having to improvise on the go.

“We try to carve out that 20 minutes, but there will be a series of votes; I’ve got constituents waiting. Sometimes I take my black bag with my breast pump over to the Capitol in the Ladies’ Reading Room.”

Melinda Katz, who WCF endorsed for her NY City Council run, wrote a great Huffington Post article about her experience with motherhood and politics - which constantly causes her to analyze her choices.

“One thing you learn as a candidate or sitting official is that everything becomes a political issue. If I have to bring Carter with me — to an event, to City Hall for an emergency session — do I have to think twice about being accused of using him as a political prop, or do I decide to take whatever comes because I need to do what’s best for my kid?”

Though eager to hear thoughts about motherhood and politics, Melinda also reminds us that many other qualities define her and other women candidates:

Ultimately, I’m not just running as a woman or a mom. I’m running as a lawyer, a legislator, a skilled negotiator, a product of public schools, a New Yorker with great experience and compelling ideas about how to better steward the City’s finances through this tumultuous period.

I’m hopeful that the recent upswing of new mothers in office will continue and serve as an example to others that having children and a political career is possible.