The next time a political battle rages over women’s rights, education or health care, I want more women in office.
In our country, women vote more frequently than men, and women are passionate about many important issues, yet only 24 percent of state and local government officeholders are women.
We need to push a “Good Ol’ Girl” grassroots network so that women can establish a stronger foothold in Chattanooga, Nashville and Washington.
Did you know that – unless something has gone dramatically and publicly wrong for any given elected official – incumbents have a 90 percent chance of winning re-election? Of course, most officeholders are men.
Political inertia aside, women face unique hurdles on the path to elected office and the power and influence that yields.
Though the paradigm is slowly changing, primary caregiving responsibilities often fall to women. Women are often simultaneously responsible for both children and aging parents while they work full-time jobs.
So when women do find the time to run for office, they tend to be in their 40s or 50s – rather than their 20s and 30s.
A decision to run later in life would include more career and community service experience. Some believe it is better to wait. Researchers have cited these structural and societal reasons to explain why young women are not inclined to run.
But that’s not the full story, according to Dr. Michelle D. Deardorff, head of the UTC department of political science and Adolph S. Ochs professor of government. She countered the idea “that women are less likely to exhibit office-seeking behavior.”
“It’s not that women do not want to change things or be politically involved,” Deardorff said. Instead, “they are more likely to be involved by participating in nonprofits or charity organizations as opposed to running for office.”
Deardorff said it’s not that women aren’t ambitious, it’s that they are less ambitious about running for office. Understanding why this is the case may depend on when you were born.
“Going back to childhood, the activities girls participate in and the expectations of girls – the way we characterized girls’ leadership – all of these things lead girls to become less ambitious to be elected officials,” Deardorff said.
Here I offer a shoutout for UTC. Our Chattanooga university is a change agent. It offers more and more leadership opportunities specifically directed at collegiate women, including Elect Her, aimed at encouraging women to get involved in student government with the hope they will one day run for public office.
But sometimes the spark can be much less complicated.
I knew a female student at UTC who was shocked when a successful Student Government Association president suggested she get involved. She told me she looked to her right, looked to her left, and said: “Are you talking to me?!” He assured her he was.
She had never considered running for SGA. But because of that one positive comment, she launched a campaign and won a senate seat. In the process she discovered new confidence and energy to effect change.
Let’s take that idea to your workplace: How can you determine if your business wants women to run for office? Are there internal efforts in place to identify female leaders and expand their skill sets?
Encouragement can easily come from willing management. It also can come from many other sources.
If you know a woman who has what it takes to run for political office, then tell her you admire her for who she is and what she stands for. Encourage her to run for office. If you think that’s silly, it’s not; another reason women do not run for office is they have never been told they should take that step. Colleagues, friends and interested observers: Speak up!
Political parties also play a huge role. Deardorff says female candidates only garner attention after they have secured a spot in a general election. Political parties need to be quicker in the identification and promotion of female candidates. Support should come early as the candidate creates and launches her campaign.
While it is important for both men and women to encourage women to run for office, it’s especially important for women to help women find their voice. Mothers, sisters, friends, female colleagues and female supervisors can unite – not to replicate the system men have created, but to create their own version.
A younger colleague may need a quiet mentor or introductions to others who can help her career thrive. When a woman champions another woman in the workplace, it is noticed and appreciated.
If we want to see more women representing us at all levels of government, we all play a role in making that happen. Sometimes, all we have to do is ask, and then offer encouragement and support.
Cindy Carroll served as assistant director of university relations at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for nearly 20 years.