Woman VP? Check. What's Next?
I vividly recall when Patty Murray ran for U.S. Senate from my state of Washington. It was 1992. She was often thought of as a "Mom in tennis shoes" as she fought for rights for her children. Since then, Patty Murray has become a national powerhouse. Today she is a respected committee chair and party leader, nearly 30 years after she arrived in D.C. But the fact that her power is such an exception begs the question:
Why aren't there more Patty Murrays?
Women have long been under-represented, both on the national stage and local and state stages. I worked as a Congressional staffer 30 years ago and still remember being talked past and over on a daily basis. I acknowledge things are much better nationally than they were when Senator Murray was minimized by her opponents. And, in Washington State, our second Senator (Maria Cantwell) just became Chair of the Commerce Committee. Power indeed! In fact, I found this fact the other day: In 2020, 126 women serve in the U.S. Congress: 25 in the Senate and 101 in the House. So there's progress.
But then you look at the states and local politics. Proportion of state legislatures in 2020 was just 29.3 percent women. The number of women in state elective executive posts is just 90. Again, my own state is a shining example. In fact, in 2020, fully 40 percent of those in our state legislature were women, putting us near the top of the national list (Shame on you, Delaware, with 24 percent!). But no one was over half. So what we see is women still need to increase their numbers in local and state races. That's where it all begins.
That's where the National Women's Political Caucus's Washington Chapter comes in. We all know getting elected requires a certain skillset. You need to know how to raise money. You need to have communications skills. We also know that women of color are even MORE under-represented in today's number of office holders. So the Women's Political Caucus is holding a training on March 6 (March 20 exclusively for women of color). You will be able to join others who may want to run for office - now, and in the future. This is a perfect opportunity for you to sign up, meet others and get the skills you need. And we make it affordable (just $35 for a day of training, free for the March 20 event, and scholarships available).
So even if you are just beginning to think about it (this is great for college students, too), I hope you will join us. And feel free to spread the word through sharing this article.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this article by the respected, powerful, effective U.S. Senator Patty Murray, looking at what has changed since the "Year of the Woman" in 1992. Clearly, we have made some strides. And we finally have a Vice President who is a woman.
But I think we can all agree- we have a lot further to go.
Join us!