Women Candidates Know These 5 Truths

By: Mary Hughes
Posted: 04/16/2014 5:21 pm EDT
Huffington Post

Across the country filing deadlines are passing and political campaigns are underway. With women at such a deficit in every state legislature (24 percent) and in Congress (18 percent), we need good women candidates running their best races. So perhaps a few reminders are in order:

1. Reflexive modesty undercuts voters' perceptions of your strength and competence. From an early age, many women learn to share credit and to make everyone a proud part of a successful enterprise. Perhaps moms are passing down the quality they believe make them good family managers and peacekeepers. Unfortunately, elections are singular pursuits resulting in winners and losers. Speaking plainly about achievements is essential to conveying readiness to lead.
Too often, women use language like "We organized" or "I helped build..." or "My team succeeded..." when in fact, they were the brains, drive and direction that led to success. No one likes a braggart, but a forthright description of ingenuity and hard work doesn't need to be offensive. Giving voters a true picture of what a candidate has accomplished is critical to success.

2. Raising money is about making a case for the cause. Recent research confirms that asking for money is a standard requirement of candidates for public office. The anxiety, avoidance and fear of failure that often accompany fundraising stem from a misunderstanding: That soliciting financial support means risking personal rejection. Not so. The best fundraisers enlist supporters in a cause rooted in their shared values. They ask for funding to achieve a policy goal, solve a problem of common concern and provide potential donors with proof of viability and a roadmap for success.
Raising issues that other candidates have not -- poverty, access to health care, early childhood education -- can be powerful. For many donors, keeping their issues visible and well argued is enough to prompt them to give. A candidate's personal qualities and political viability are factors in a donor's assessment, but not the only ones. And a donor who declines today may reconsider tomorrow.

3. Career "time-outs" are not a political liability. Few women start work and continue on uninterrupted over the course of a lifetime. Many start and stop several times; some switch from full to part-time work to accommodate family responsibilities. Other change jobs or careers.
Rather than see this pattern as debilitating, embrace it for the wisdom accumulated and the political base built. The very activities required of moms and caregivers expand their political networks and give women experiences that deepen their understanding of what's needed in public policy. Consider it a competitive advantage.

The neighborhood cobbler and dry cleaner, doctor and dentist, teacher and coach, recycling center volunteer and hospital staff can form a powerful base from which to launch a candidacy. Instead of worrying over conclusions that voters may draw about employment "gaps," women do well to mine those gaps for community ties and experiences that tell voters, "I'm like you. I get your life."

4. Women ignore gender-biased media coverage at their own peril. Many women believe it is a sign of sophistication to brush off gender-biased press coverage. Those who aspire to high office are not whiners, right? But what does it say about a candidate if she will not stand up for herself? How will she be able to stand up for the voters?

If a news story, column or comment derives from a woman's gender and the net effect is to make her "less than..." it must be addressed. According to "Name It, Change It," a study commissioned by the Women's Campaign Fund and Women's Media Center, it is necessary to identify the offense in order to change the practice.

Whether the conversation is between a candidate and a reporter, or a press conference demand for a wholesale change in editorial policy depends on the particulars. The point is: Women can't let sexism go. When voters hear the debate, they make fair judgments, but they can't be fair if they don't get the facts. Belittling press coverage is an opportunity for candidates to show how really big they are.

5. "Vote for me. We need more women" is not a winning appeal. Voters want to select the best person for the job. Asking them to make a judgment based on an immutable characteristic -- race, ethnicity, gender, age, etc. -- isn't making the best case. Accomplishment and character; vision, problem-solving and diligence rank high among qualities voters are looking for.
Recent research concludes that working together women and men get better results than teams of only one gender. There is more and more evidence that women in legislative bodies change the agenda, procedures, content and outcomes of policy debates. And there are other benefits of having women in office. In other words, women elected officials act differently and make a difference. But that is a conversation and message to be delivered by advocacy groups.

Winning candidates focus on what they can do for the people they hope to represent.
How they do that signals the kind of leader they will be. Some questions for candidates:

• What will you do to lighten their load? (Purposeful)
• How will you make government solutions work for everyone? (Knowledgeable)
• What are the specific, realistic changes you can make? (Practical)
• What have you done before that demonstrates you can do this now? (Accomplished)
• What can you share that communicates: "I am like you. I am for you?" (Connected)
• Will voters always be proud that they chose you? (Honorable)

URL:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-hughes/winning-women-candidates-_b_5161539.html?utm_hp_ref=tw

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Words Matter

By:  Lindsay Bubar &  Nomiki Konst

Posted: 09/19/2012 

The 700 Club, a live television show hosted by Pat Robertson, is watched daily by approximately one million viewers, many who turn to the show for guidance, advice and support.


After a broadcast last week, Robertson's millions of viewers now think it is acceptable to beat their wives. You heard that right. Pat Robertson suggested that one of his viewers, having some challenges in his marriage, should beat his wife.

Here are his comments, as summarized by the Huffington Post:

On Monday's broadcast of Robertson's television show "The 700 Club," he answered a question from a viewer named Michael about how to repair his marriage to a woman who "has no respect for me as the head of the house." Robertson's response: "Well, you could become a Muslim and you could beat her."
...Unfortunately, Robertson didn't stop there.
"I don't think we condone wife-beating these days but something has got to be done to make her."

Robertson quickly attracted criticism from the Muslim community, and rightfully so. Suggesting that it is commonplace and accepted in the Muslim community to beat your wife is incredibly offensive and simply not true. In response to their outrage, CNB (the network that airs Robertson's show) quickly edited out the offensive comments and released a statements saying they "regret these comments." While it is nice to see they took action, we are saddened to see their response did not match just how offensive and dangerous Robertson's comments were.

As a feminists and women's rights activists, we see Robertson's comments through the lens of women who are frequently reminded how far we have to go toward gender equality. With all of the recent attacks on women's health and choice, we are discouraged by the regression our country has made in our slow march toward full equality for women. We speak out about the issues with our friends, at women's events and have written about the importance of gender equality in politics. But these comments feel different than other offensive headlines that have motivated us to act out in the past. These comments are horribly dangerous.

Statistics paint a terrifying picture. Somewhere in America a woman is battered, usually by her intimate partner, every 15 seconds. Almost one-third of female homicide victims are killed by an intimate partner, and less than half of domestic violence incidents are reported to police. Not only is violence against women by an intimate partner much more common than most know, but it is also severely underreported, so most women who go through that terrible experience never get the help they so desperately need, which often leads to violence again in the future.

The progress toward solving this epidemic of violence against women is a large task. We must create a society where women who are victims of violence feel supported, are able to detect the signs and know where to turn for help. But when a popular talk-show host, considered by many to be a moral leader and watched by millions for advice, sends the message that violence is a solution to relationship problems, the task seems almost impossible.

We appreciate CBN for coming out in opposition to Pat Robertson's comments. However, it was not a faceless broadcasting corporation that recommended a man harm his wife to demand respect -- it was Pat Robertson. The apology should have come from Robertson. The appropriate action for CBN to take would be to suspend his program to demonstrate that they do not tolerate that sort of dangerous ignorance on a program proudly bearing their network logo. Pat Robertson should not be back on the air unless it is to offer a heartfelt apology and to host a program exclusively about violence against women, including ways women who are in violent relationships can get help.

That is what we ask of CBN today. We hope the network realizes that tolerating violence against any woman creates a society where every woman is at greater risk. Words matter. Robertson's words are inexcusable. It is time to change the conversation and protect millions of women.

Follow Lindsay Bubar on Twitter: www.twitter.com/LindsayBubar

Follow Nomiki Konst on Twitter: www.twitter.com/NomikiKonst

Women Face High Stakes In 2012: Persuading Women To Run For Office

From Huffington Post, 11/2/2011

One reason few women are elected to higher office is that few of them run.

Photo illustration by Christopher Meighan/
The Washington Post

"It's very very difficult to make large gains if women are only competing in about a third of the races," said Lawless, of the Women and Politics Institute. "And so until we really see more women running for office, it's very, very difficult to see increases in the percentage of women holding office."

It's partly about ego. Lawless' research has found that 60 percent of men believe they're fit to run for public office, compared to fewer than 40 percent of women who have the same qualifications. Women are also significantly more likely to let these doubts prevent them from running.

Even today, women also have more family obligations to consider than men do.

"In families where both adults are working, generally in high-level careers, women are 12 times more likely than men to be responsible for the majority of household tasks, and more than 10 times more likely to be responsible for the majority of child care responsibilities," wrote Lawless in 2007.

"A lot of women are supporting their families," said Hirono. "They've got other things in their lives that make it that much harder for them to think about running for office."

"This is a brutal line of work in terms of your privacy and your personal life being criticized," said McCaskill. "Any mistake you make being blown out of proportion, being twisted or distorted. I think that there are many women who believe it doesn't jibe with a strong family life, and I'm the first to acknowledge there are challenges associated with that."

"I feel like, in my life, I've been everything as an elected official," McCaskill added. "I've been single, I've been divorced, I've been pregnant. I've had three small children as a single mom. I've been remarried with a blended family. I've gone through a lot of different steps in my personal life, all while holding elected office, and I think that I can say confidently that while there are challenges, there are also advantages, and a lot of women don't see any of the advantages."

So what's the solution?

A 2009 study by CAWP -- which also runs the nonpartisan 2012 Project designed to inspire women to run for office -- found that nearly twice as many women as men said they had decided to run for political office only after it was suggested to them, whereas men were more likely to come up with the idea on their own.

Lawless has also found that women are four times more likely to seriously consider running for office when the idea is suggested to them.

Sam Bennett ran for Congress in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 2008. She is now president and CEO of the She Should Run Foundation, a nonprofit group focused on getting people to urge more women to run for office and then connecting them with organizations and infrastructure to help them do so.

"Men wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and have been culturally raised and trained to see themselves as political candidates. Women have been raised in a radically different way," said Bennett. "Our culture has trained them not only to not see themselves as political candidates, but to see themselves as uniquely unqualified to run. So that's where the challenge lies."

"This problem will not fix itself -- a banner year of outstanding senatorial candidates not withstanding," she added. "The only thing that's going to fix this is exponentially more women being asked to run for office."

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