What Will It Take to Make A Woman President?: Conversations About Women, Leadership and Power (20 page)

MS
: Looking at this last election, everyone talked about how history-making it was to have twenty women in the Senate, and yet it is still obviously so far from parity. There’s definitely been progress, but what are some of the reasons that the numbers are so low? What is your assessment?

OS
: You know, it could be for a number of reasons. I’m not so sure there’s any one reason—whether or not it’s a matter of interest or choice. It could be that women, in the way in which they are pursuing their careers, raising families, it may be more difficult to have it dovetail with their own lives. When I was first running, I think oftentimes we used to say that women didn’t have then the Rolodex, didn’t have that built-in network within either the communities or within a political party organization that would have been critical and indispensable to being a candidate for high public office. So often men were in a position to have that network of support, both organizationally and financially. That made a huge difference; they could launch their candidacies and get the support of the power brokers in communities, or throughout the state, that became more of a natural alliance for men. But women did not have similar networks of support. They didn’t have that kind of organization or entries that would have provided the access and the opportunities to run for public office.

MS
: When you were there, did you feel that you were a minority? Were there certain challenges or experiences specific to being a woman there? I was really touched by the relationship of all the female senators from both parties, the fact that they regularly get together for bipartisan dinners, for example.

OS
: Yes, they have these dinners; I’m sure they talked to you about that, about having the monthly dinners which has been a long-standing tradition among the women, because it builds camaraderie and collegiality and collaboration, a better understanding of one another’s perspectives of what brought them to this point, of their life experiences that obviously can characterize someone’s approach to how they address the issues in the United States Senate. So I think it’s an ideal example of how you can build bridges within the institution that can result in greater benefits in the future, because that collegiality and familiarity with one another on a personal level can result in substantive results in the legislative arena. So that’s what I think is so essential and lacking, unfortunately, in the current political environment is we don’t have that ability to interact and to get to know our colleagues on a personal level that can help break down those barriers that will allow you to work on issues across the political aisle. So there’s a bond there among women, irrespective of whether or not you have differences on issues—it’s just a general connection and bonding and mutual understanding. Because with all the different life experiences, there’s a specific disposition to how we approach life in general: much more practical in our thinking; less about the fight and more about the solution.

MS
: I feel like you vote your beliefs. You’ve never been hesitant to vote across party lines or to do things that don’t always go with your party. Do you think that type of courage is required—to not always be so black and white in terms of going along with your party?

OS
: Yes, that’s right. You see that everything isn’t just in black-and-white terms, but there are gray areas. So I think women—obviously it’s very difficult to stereotype—but I think there is a collaborative facet to women in the way in which they approach legislative solutions, similar to life. When you’re having to juggle family demands and the professional life, you sort
of [figure out] how are you going to solve these problems on a day-to-day basis. And I think it’s sort of that same inclination in the legislative process. In my case, I look at the practicality of what we’re trying to achieve, and how can we solve this problem. When I hear about a problem, whether it’s for the country or my constituents or for an individual, my immediate reaction is, well, how can we solve this? What are the facts? So much of the nonsense that goes on today in the political arena does nothing to solve the problem. It might make good theater, but it does nothing to reach a practical end result. And I think women are much more practical. I think that’s sort of a connection among us: we’re looking at the practicality of how we can get something done, how can we accomplish it and move forward, because we’re juggling so many different things in our daily lives. From that standpoint, I think, yes, women bring those indispensable ingredients to the legislative process, and that’s why it’s healthier for governing institutions to be more reflective of the broader society and certainly to include more women in the political process. And having those voices heard in all facets of the Senate or in the House of Representatives on the various committees is also critically important to have that dimension and that view represented on respective committees.

In the House of Representatives, if we had a woman serving on that committee, for example, we had that voice weighing in on that particular issue. So it does matter to have more women serving in public office, because that means that you have that particular voice lending itself to having a more balanced view when it comes to considering or advancing various pieces of legislation. I mean, look at the sexual assault in the military. Somehow the military hasn’t gotten it straight—about where the accountability lies and a process in place to hold them accountable and have zero tolerance for this kind of behavior. I was working on these issues in the Armed Services in the 1990s, but there are many issues that the women carried that mantle of leadership on various questions, because
they were in a position to do so. That’s the point. It’s adding the voice to those issues and that perspective that otherwise would be absent.

MS
: One of the things we keep hearing about is the challenge of juggling work and family for women everywhere—in the corporate world and certainly in Washington—especially women with young children. But if we did have more women in Washington, would there be better policies to support women and families?

OS
: You’re right. This whole juggling work and family, sure, it’s reality, it’s a difficult endeavor day-to-day. We live in a busy world that everybody lives in, and trying to meet that demand and making sure your children are taken care of is difficult. And is there adequate childcare? I worked a lot on that issue over the years: affordable, accessible, quality childcare. That makes a profound difference in the working lives of women and, yes, men. Ultimately the way to allay the fears of someone who’s going to work, in any event, let alone running for public office, is to know that they have the ability to provide that kind of support to their children and to their families. But you’re absolutely right, you get more focus on those issues. We actually made historic achievement in the time when we focused on these issues in the Congressional Caucus in the 1980s. We made historic progress because we just really ensured that we were driving that train on key questions, so that they didn’t languish on the back burner, but they were on the front burner for action. But it took time. I mean, I think family and medical leave, for example, to become federal law required the better part of seven years’ endeavor to be successful on that front. But it’s driving those efforts and making sure that they stay in the forefront of public attention and legislative action. It takes, I think, a great deal of persistence and dedication and drive. So that is why it makes a difference whether or not you have women in positions of high public office and, yes, makes a
difference about running for president. I think the country is prepared. I don’t doubt that for a moment, and honestly I think it clearly is just a matter of time. You just have to have more women running for that position where ultimately it will work.

MS
: You’ve always seemed to have the courage and confidence to speak your truth. There are so many influences that try to get girls to want to please and be liked and focus on how they look, so it takes a lot for women to believe in themselves and put themselves out there. How did you get to be the bold person you are today?

OS
: You know, it’s interesting—when I review my own life, probably I wouldn’t have been a likely candidate in many ways, but I’m passionate about what I believe in. And perhaps it’s that drive from my upbringing and circumstances that compelled me to stand on my own two feet early and think for myself and depend on myself, for better or for worse, in many ways. I ended up running for a public office and state legislature right after my first husband died, and I stayed in the legislative branch for forty years, and that wasn’t exactly what I anticipated. I just feel that the strength of my convictions and believing strongly in what you’re doing becomes the ultimate force and the overriding interest in being strong about various positions. So it’s just my natural independence to begin with. And then, secondly, as I tell young people, be passionate about what you believe in and do not be afraid to stand alone, because you may find yourself in a position one day where you have to stand alone. When you know it’s that important, don’t be afraid. That doesn’t mean it’s easy; it isn’t. But if you know that if you feel strongly about a certain position and certain values or a certain view, and if you believe you’re right, then you should be able to stand alone. And I just think my own experiences and my personal circumstances in life helped to contribute to how I weighed
in in the legislative arena. I always attached it to personal experiences of my constituency, or the facts of an issue, and tried to appreciate and understand the dimensions of a problem and how could we solve it, and whether or not it was in our purview
to
solve it. So that’s what I think gave me the strength to just build independence and to be passionate about what I view to be important. That’s all part of leadership, frankly, and I think it’s having a strong belief in yourself and having the confidence to do that. But whether I would have known that early on in my life, I do not know. It’s just that I ended up oftentimes having to make decisions for myself—having lost my parents early and so on—but I think it all contributed to one, surviving; two, persevering; three, being independent; four, I’m passionate about what I believe in; five, I don’t hesitate to drive that train; and six, to anticipate the future and anticipate problems and try to preempt them and to address them. It doesn’t mean it’s easy. I understand that there are so many complicating factors for young women and growing up and what the influences are and the world in which they are living today and many competing pressures to excel in so many ways. I think it’s difficult. There’s no doubt about it. I’m so impressed by all the young women I have met on these campuses. Wow, they’re so talented.

MS
: That’s wonderful to hear. Sometimes there’s this impression that young people, particularly young women, are maybe not as engaged, but I always think that’s a misconception.

OS
: I have just met some very impressive young women on these campuses who are so committed to the future and what they want to accomplish—goal-oriented and centered, not just on themselves, but the world around them. And they want to know how best they can contribute in that fashion and in the careers they intend to pursue. Most of them are going into the sciences or to pursue a medical career. I mean, it’s amazing. I’ve been on
four different campuses in the last two weeks, so I have had a chance to meet a lot of students, male and female, but I’m so impressed with these highly accomplished women. And honestly, I encouraged them—I asked them if they had an interest in public office. I’m not hearing any resonating yeses. This is what’s happening: they want to, but they don’t think that’s the best way they can contribute. They want to contribute in other ways because of what they see happening in Washington . . . there are some who are fascinated by it and they’re going to work in Washington, and hopefully it leads to public office. I always tell them, “You know what? When I was your age I had a strong interest in public service, but I certainly wasn’t expecting that one day I would become a United States senator! So you never know.” It is important to encourage young women just to think about public service as an option.

But I think we’re seeing more women now; for example, having twenty women in the United States Senate. That makes a difference because you have more women in high-profile positions whom young women can emulate and who can serve as role models and examples of what can be accomplished when you aspire to those heights. At some point it could dovetail or integrate with their lives. That doesn’t mean they have to necessarily start at a young age, like I did. I also underscore that because I want them to at least understand that it doesn’t necessarily mean they have to start at the beginning and devote their whole lives to it, but rather at some point when it works, to consider it as a potential option, a possibility, and not to ever remove it entirely from their list of options throughout life. Because it may not work now, but it may work at some point in the future, and oftentimes women do raise their children and then decide to run for public office, and so many have. And there are others who are raising their young children and making it work alongside their public service. So it’s whatever works and it’s the flexibility, if you adapt and adopt in order to hopefully keep that option open for the future. So I encourage them to
think about it and not think it’s out of their realm, because it’s very much within their realm. And the fact is there’s a cause and effect between what happens and doesn’t happen in their own lives—and that’s true for women and true for society, as a whole. It’s a cause and effect, and if you get involved, you can make a difference and make your voice heard.