Why We Need Women in Office

Last night, in the town where I live, we had a warrant review in preparation for a special town meeting. On the table are some critical items to do with education, raising taxes and smut zoning. As I looked around the room, I observed how few women are in power:

-9 person finance committee: 2 are women

-5 person board of selectman: 1 is a woman

- 7 person school committee: 2 are women

- 5 person planning board: no women

And yet the town population over the age of 18 is 54 percent female and 46 percent male. That is not representative government.

We’ve written before about the need for women to lead. Diverse leadership leads to better problem solving, more creativity, representative government. Girls need role models so they know they too can grow up to serve and lead some day.

And then this weekend, we witnessed the House trade women’s rights for healthcare reform. The Women’s Campaign Forum writes that if there were more women representatives, the Stupak amendment would have been defeated.

There are some great organizations that support women who want to run for elected office. I encourage you to take a look. Start with She Should Run.

(Logo used with Creative Commons license.)

Tags: equal rights, healthcare reform, leadership, stupak, women's equality