Blog

Year of the Woman? Yeah, right.

Thu Nov 20 15:59:00 -0500 2008

It’s been everywhere – 2008 is the “year of the woman.”

Hillary Clinton. Sarah Palin. Gender bias. Women as swing voters. Women as the key voting bloc. Women as the backbone of the economy. Blah, blah, blah.

But let’s look at these Election Day facts: There was a net gain of four new women in Congress – one in the Senate and three in the House. The number of women overall went up a whopping one percent – from 16 to 17 percent. Big deal. It’s far short of the 30 percent experts say is needed for real change – and ridiculously far from the 51 percent of the population who are women.

8 in '08

Fri Nov 07 09:18:58 -0500 2008

Congratulations to President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden on their resounding victory Tuesday night.

And congratulations to the eight WomenCount-endorsed candidates who clinched wins in their House and Senate races:

Kay Hagan (NC Senate)
Jeanne Shaheen (NH Senate)
Mary Landrieu (La Senate)
Gabrielle Giffords (Ariz, 8th district)
Kirsten Gillibrand (NY, 20th district)
Suzanne Kosmas (Fla, 24th district)
Betsy Markey (Colo, 4th district)
Dina Titus (Nev, 3rd district)

Help needed urgently in CA

Sun Nov 02 20:35:00 -0500 2008

Our help is urgently needed in California.

There are two statewide propositions on the ballot on Tuesday that must be defeated, and women must come together and make our voices heard – now. It’s not too late.

If these measures pass, there is certain to be a ripple affect across the nation -- and we must not let that happen.

Be the first to sign

Fri Oct 31 10:01:00 -0400 2008

We are planning something big for right after the election, and we wanted our members to be the first to know --- and to help us get ready.

No one understands better than you that women have been the center of the conversation in this election – the good and the bad of it. It’s our job to make sure that’s where we stay. Be the first to sign our petition calling for the President-elect to create a Presidential Commission on Women in his first 100 days. It may be the easiest – but perhaps most important – request WomenCount has made of you yet.

Jill Biden on the Issues: Education & Pay Equity

Fri Oct 17 20:48:31 -0400 2008

Today, I had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Jill Biden , wife of Senator Joe Biden, the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee, thanks to Women for Obama. On the call which included Danielle Gray, National Deputy Policy Director, a small group of women bloggers asked questions about Dr. Biden's thoughts on the problems of our educational system and what she thinks we should do about it.

Meet our “8 in ’08” – candidates for House and Senate.

Sat Oct 11 16:41:51 -0400 2008

Meet our “8 in ’08” – candidates for House and Senate.

They range in age from 38 to 62. They have a total of 15 children among them. Some have previously worked in politics, and others have backgrounds as teachers, lawyers, and business leaders. Their top priorities are creating jobs, increasing access to health care, improving education, and ending the war, among others.

Our new campaign: "I'm a woman. I have issues."

Fri Sep 26 14:18:33 -0400 2008

Do you have issues? Real issues? Ones that you care deeply about that have not been adequately addressed so far in this campaign?

Women are not single-issue thinkers, and we’re not single-issue voters. You have issues. Tell us your story.
We’re getting tired of hearing that women are the swing voters in this election, and about how hard the candidates are working to court our support. If that’s true, let’s tell them what matters to us. Let’s tell them about our issues.

We are also tired of the pandering about traditional “women’s issues.” We care deeply and passionately about reproductive rights and pay equity, but we also care about gas prices, the crisis on Wall Street, affordable health care, the quality of education, and the future of our troops in Iraq, to name just a few.
It’s time for the candidates and the mainstream media to stop talking about the politics of the “women’s vote” and to start listening to the substance of the issues we care about.

WomenCount has partnered with Tokoni, a social media community, to give you a place to tell your story about the issues that matter most to you. Our new campaign – “I’m a woman. I have issues.” – will gather those stories and carry your voices to the campaigns, the media, and our party leaders.

You’re a woman, and you have issues. What is yours, and why? Tell us your story.

Perhaps you have a 50-mile commute to work each way and your paycheck is barely covering your expenses. Or maybe health care is your priority because you can’t afford insurance and rely on the doctor at the local clinic to give you free samples of antibiotics when your kids are sick.

WomenCount formed to give women a voice in the political process. Ever since we created our PAC last May, and then our non-profit arm in July, we’ve been doing just that. And this new campaign is an extension of our original mission – it’s all about respect and accountability.

The more stories we can collect, the more forceful we can be. There are three ways you can help:

Write your story.
Forward this message to a friend.
Donate to support our efforts to make sure that our voices are heard.

Christine Jennings & Jeanne Shaheen Interviewed About Key Issues

Wed Sep 17 14:37:49 -0400 2008

Christine Jennings, U.S. congressional candidate from Florida and a dynamic, WomenCount supported candidate, was profiled in a detailed interview today by Julie Pippert of the MOMocrats. Topics include community service, the economy, green jobs, the environment, the space program, healthcare and education.

Saturday Night Live Skit Hits Media Gender Bias Between the Eyes

Tue Sep 16 18:17:33 -0400 2008

Here at WomenCount, we couldn't be more happy that our campaign issue of gender bias is finally getting attention, although as Amy Poehler said in character as Hillary Clinton on Saturday Night Live, "the issue that I'm frankly surprised to hear people suddenly care about." Whatever it took, we're glad it's finally here.

The five minute skit of a joint press conference given by Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Hillary Clinton, quickly gets to the point as Tina Fey does a smashing portrayal of Palin. "Tonight, we are crossing party lines to address the now very ugly role that sexism is playing in the campaign."

Both actresses/characters mock the actions that have occurred thus far in the campaign, like sexist name calling of both Clinton and Palin, as well as various photoshopping of their faces onto other peoples' bodies. A poignant but possibly overlooked quote from Poehler as Clinton: "I wanted to be president, and I just happen to be a women."

They spelled out what many people really want to see in the rest of the election: Palin: "So in the next six weeks, I invite the media to be vigilant for sexist behavior..." Clinton: "although it is never sexist to ask female politicians about credentials." And finally... Clinton: In conclusion, I invite the media to grow a pair... and if you can't, I will lend you mine."

See NBC's SNL Palin sketch video here. (See also, Alex Spillius's spot-on analysis of the sketch.)

NOTE TO MSNBC - IT'S ABOUT TIME

Tue Sep 09 11:10:21 -0400 2008

They were two of the biggest perpetrators of sexist comments during this election - MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews - and now they have been dethroned from their anchor posts and returned to commentary roles at the network.

Their displays of extreme gender bias were not cited as even a factor in the reshuffling, but WomenCount heralds the move as a victory in the fight to stamp out sexism on the campaign trail. Our efforts specifically call on party leaders - or corporate chiefs, as the case may be - to “stop the silence” on sexism. Booting those in high-profile media posts is a good step.

Olbermann famously suggested that someone should take Hillary Clinton “into a room and only he comes out.” His attack reached a new low in its threat of violence.

Chris Matthews called Hillary a “she-devil” and “witchy” and lamented that the reason she was a United States Senator and candidate for president was that her “husband messed around. We keep forgetting it. She didn't win [the Senate race] on her merit.”

Offensive is an understatement. The only thing worse is that Olbermann and Matthews sat in their anchor chairs for as long as they did.

We find it mysterious that no one's talking about their well-documented patterns of gender bias as a factor in their dismissals. In today's news coverage of their removals, we could not find any mention of their sexist and offensive behavior, from the New York Times to NPR. These are news organizations that know better.

Such a lack of recognition of their role in this year's sexist treatment of candidates proves our work is far from finished. Congratulate MSNBC for dropping Olbermann and Matthews but remind them we are still watching closely! We will forward your message.

Gov. Sarah Palin's spot on the Republican ticket has launched the subject of sexist treatment of woman candidates back into the spotlight. As Melissa McEwan wrote on her popular blog Shakesville last week, we will defend Palin “against misogynist smears not because we like her or support her, but because that's how feminism works.”

And today, liberal talk show host Rachel Maddow launches her new show on MSNBC so overall the network has a chance to get it right in their coverage of women and women's issues. Let's remind them and others we'll be watching.

And don't forget to forward this message to a friend so they sign up with WomenCount and we have all hands on deck!

Warmly,

The WomenCount Team