By Shabbir
2018 was dubbed the “Year of the Woman”, and a record number of women were elected to the Senate (25), House of Representatives (102), and numerous other elected offices such as Attorneys General, Governors, State Reps and Senators, and city councils around the country. Many of these women were Democrats and 2018 is also called the Blue Wave. https://www.vox.com/2018/12/6/18119733/congress-diversity-women-election-good-news
2020 is the hundredth anniversary of when women gained the right to vote in USA, and there are even more women vying for Senate and Congress, and elected positions in every state.
Organizations like Emily’s list, which supports Democratic women running for office, and NFRW for Republican women, and the non-partisan grandmammy of all, The League of Women Voters, have played a big role in this recent surge of women candidates. These organizations provide training, support, mentorship and funding at all stages of their candidacy, and have been extremely influential in promoting the right female candidate in the right district. Several new organizations have also sprung up as resources for women, and demand for such services has surged.
For example, Emily’s List is a wonderful not-for-profit organization that focuses on helping women around the country run for elected office ranging from School Board to Senator. Emily’s list was started by an ordinary woman (surprisingly not named Emily – read the history behind the name Emily on their website) named Ellen R. Malcolm in her basement in 1985. Since then Emily’s List has supported nearly 1300 women get elected, including 16 Governors, 26 Senators, and 150 Congresswomen. Emily’s List was a major cause for the wave of women elected to Congress in 2018. Emily’s List has a great website featuring each candidate they support, with a short bio and their positions on various policies. They not only support their candidates with funds, but also provide training and supportive advice, and they have a knack for picking winners. (In 2018, I supported 11 of their candidates, and to my great surprise, 10 got elected. I wish I had the same luck with my stock picks!)
All around the world things are changing for women. Change is slow but steady. Even Saudi Arabia now allows women to drive without a male escort and has allowed women to vote since 2015. Yes, I know this sounds crazy today, but remember that Switzerland only allowed women to vote in 1971, and USA only in 1920, and in Shakespearan England, women were considered property, much like slaves. Today, there is change all around as countries like Rwanda, Bolivia, Cuba and Mexico lead the way with more than 50% women in their parliaments. (No European nations in the top 10, and USA trailing at a sad 75th!). C suites and Boards are being filled by women, slowly but surely, as women head diverse corporations like GM, Pepsico, Citicorp and others. Young girls, changemakers like like Malala Yousafzai and Greta Thunberg, are revered and honored around the world. While I wish for my two daughter’s sake that change were faster, I am very sure that things will indeed change and women will be considered equal in every way in all aspects of life.
I am a strong believer in women’s leadership being better and more sustainable for our political institutions as well as our future as a democracy in USA. Notwithstanding some bad actors like PFC Lyndie England and Brig General Janis Karpinski at the Abu Ghraib prison, women are kinder, gentler leaders who are less likely to promote a win at all costs strategy.
We are well on the way to a tsunami of women being elected leaders around the world as well as in USA. This November, if there is a woman candidate in your district for any office, take a few minutes to get to know her positions better, and vote for the best candidate.