Who Need Women In Government? We Do!
Women leaders have shown they know how to work together, whether it’s in the public or private sector.
Women’s Campaign Forum President Sam Bennett describes a new initiative to put enough women in office this year to overcome the political impasse plaguing our nation’s lawmakers:
“I know I’m not the only one to find myself watching the news in disbelief day after day. We listen to pundits, elected officials, and even the vice president call our government “broken.”
This sentiment was only reinforced at last week’s White House health care summit when the partisan stalemate continued — only four women had been invited.
Who’s at fault and how do we get out of the seemingly endless deadlock? Some dare to argue that men are to blame. Somewhat earlier in the health care debate, Representative Carol Shea-Porter said of her sister House members: “We go to the ladies room, and we just roll our eyes at what’s being said out there. And the Republican women said when we were fighting over the health care bill, if we sent the men home, we could get this done this week.”
A bold statement? Yes. But studies have shown that women, who hold only 90 out of 535 seats in Congress, legislate differently — often being more collaborative and ensuring more win-win outcomes — than men.
Women in the House and Senate stood together against the Nelson and Stupak amendments, just as women’s organizations banded together to ensure health care reform’s effectiveness and prevent the elimination of any existing rights.
Given our current state of wheel-spinning and political gridlock, it would behoove us to make 2010 another Year of the Woman — one that this time will have staying power.
