Women and Politics

It is with the utmost pride that tonight WCF, Chiefs of Staff, elected officials, and even some very special celebrity bartenders toast to the women staffers on the Hill—the Rising Stars of the political arena.

Over forty Chiefs of Staff took the time to shine the spotlight on the incredible work and accomplishments of young women working on the Hill. For that, I thank them—too often the achievements of women go unsung.

The Hill’s Got Talent is so important because it emphasizes the essential aspect of mentoring in building an unshakable women’s network. The movement to fill the pipeline full of viable female candidates is not the endeavor of a single generation, but a collaborative effort of all ages, all across this country. It started with the first female trailblazers bold enough to stand and say, “I’m going to run.”

I ran for office, and I lost. But I won a first-hand experience of the campaign and election obstacles and the sort of leadership it takes to overcome them. My campaign won’t go down in history as a win, but it was successful in clearing, if even slightly, a path through the uncertainty to successful public policy and women’s equal footing on that stage.

But leadership doesn’t stop after a campaign after an office is won or lost. Leadership is extending a hand to the next generation and saying, “please, take it, let’s change this nation together.” It is the obligation, the privilege, of established women leaders, or women who have even taken that brave first step to seek a position of leadership—it is our obligation to mentor the young women on the rise.

It is essential that we support, teach, and encourage women to go beyond working for an incumbent—to become one themselves.