ÒWe
are women – hear us roar!Ó
By Caroline
Porter
Last week I visited
my mother in Sarasota, Florida. She is 98 years old, but not so old that she
couldnÕt weakly cheer the election of the first woman Speaker of the United
States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi. My mother and many other women
paved the difficult way for my generation of female political leaders –
such as it is. Mrs. Pelosi is 67 years old, a mother of five and grandmother of
six. And during an afternoon when I could have been relaxing on the beach in 80
degree weather, IÕm such a political junkie and womenÕs rights advocate that I
chose to sit in my hotel room to watch the voting for speaker and Mrs. Pelosi
to accept the gavel.
It was a thrill to
watch. I thought Mrs. Pelosi holding her infant grandchild while the voting was
completed and received congratulations from her peers was a bit much, but I
understand why she did it. She was saying, ÒLook, I am a woman, with children
and grandchildren and ÔfeminineÕ by anyoneÕs standards, and IÕm also qualified
to be third in line for the presidency.Ó One does not preclude the other. One
does not have to be a man to be ÒequalÓ or qualified. As the famous Helen Reddy
song claimed, ÒI am woman, hear me roar.Ó
Well, this is all
lovely and exciting, but the total picture of women in Congress is pretty
bleak. Frankly, our national government isnÕt democratic when women make up 51
percent of the population but only 15 percent of Congress. A 1995 United
Nations Development report stated, ÒWhile it is true no definite relationship
has been established between the extent of womenÕs participation in political
institutions and their contribution to the advancement of women, a 30 percent
membership in political institutions is considered the critical mass that enables
women to exert a meaningful influence on politics.Ó
In 1968 Congresswoman
Martha Griffith asked Congressional researchers how long it would take for
women to become a majority if the same incremental pace continued. The answer?
432 years.
With more women
becoming governors and elected to state legislatures, more are getting into a
position where they might run for Congress. And the governors and Congresswomen
are being prepared to run for president of the United States.
Numerous studies show
that once women are candidates, they are just as likely to win elections as
men. The problem is convincing a woman she can win and has the qualifications,
financial and personal support necessary to win. Women havenÕt exactly been
encouraged by political parties to be candidates, having to overcome the Ògood
old boyÓ syndrome, and older women threatened by their ambitions. I faced
considerable prejudice from both men and women in the Knox County Democratic
organization when I first became a candidate for the county board, and some
prejudice still exists 35 years later. The weekly newspaper, The Paper, and the Chamber of Commerce tout women who quietly
volunteer with little recognition, which leaves out those of us who seek public
office and make public policy decisions. No one can win public office and get
into a policy-making position without shamelessly promoting herself, and if a
woman doesnÕt have a healthy ego, she wonÕt last long in the game. ItÕs the
usual double standard for expectations of men and women.
In the 1940s my
mother was a charter member of the Kewanee League of Women Voters, an
organization formed after women finally got the vote in 1920, to study and take
action on government issues and prepare women to vote as informed citizens.
Mother served on the Illinois League of Women Voters board and was state
president for two terms. She was a member of the Illinois Human Relations
Commission and local commission when race relations were tough and
controversial. She served on President John KennedyÕs Commission on the Status
of Women, on the subcommittee
ÒWomen as Citizens.Ó Eleanor
Roosevelt was chairman of the commission and mother met President Kennedy in
the Rose Garden in 1962.
I donÕt think mother
will live to see the first woman president, but thanks to women like her,
progress continued during the 40s, 50s and 60s, and eventually led to the
election of Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House.
Caroline Porter is
a freelance writer from Galesburg who can be reached at cporter@galesburg.net or (309)
342-2009. Other columns are online at www.thezephyr.com.
1/11/07