After my family moved to Chattanooga just over six years ago, I began exploring all the traditional ways of getting involved in a new city - from attending PTO meetings, volunteering on a political campaign and joining local women's organizations. A friend took me to my first Mayor's Council for Women meeting, held over lunch with a large event room full of dynamic women, and I was blown away at the comprehensive information in the white papers they were sharing about women's issues.
Shortly thereafter, the Mayor's Council for Women decided to host the Statewide Women's Policy Conference in February 2018. I was excited to attend, as in 2016 I had attended the Economic Council on Women in Nashville - just before a Senate panel failed to pass (by one vote) a routine renewal of the agency's funding. I was completely impressed that Chattanooga had in effect picked up the ball and ran with it to try to help be a voice for women's issues across the entire state.
The conference speakers were all at the top of their respective fields; women came from all over Tennessee to hear what insights they had to share. It was empowering and inspiring to see so many women focused on helping each other, but it was also sad to learn that Tennessee continues to carry a report card full of Cs and Ds on issues that affect women. Our state continues to rank among the worst states on various measures affecting women, even though women comprise half the U.S. workforce, half of all breadwinners in families with young children, and more likely than men to have a college degree.
The fourth annual Statewide Women's Policy Conference on today and Friday will be an excellent opportunity to reconnect with this dynamic group and see where we are.
The pandemic has obviously had a disproportionate impact on women with children, including job losses, childcare shortages, and increases in domestic violence due to isolation. Surely there are policy proposals we can explore to address these COVID-related challenges, and perhaps learn if there is any current State legislation being proposed to improve women's futures in Tennessee.
If you need some inspiration, join us. Networking with other like-minded women from across Tennessee is a great start to make some changes; who knows where it can take us? There's only one way to go and that's up.
Krissa Barclay is a longtime Tennessee-based political consultant and fundraising expert. She currently serves as executive director for the Hamilton County Schools Foundation.