Running for office « Hellobee Boards

Running for office

By petitenoisette Nov 12, 2016

I think one thing we can all agree on is we need more women in office.

I think there are so many smart accomplished women on this site - I just want to encourage anyone who has thought about it to really seriously consider it.

Studies show that women are underrepresented in politics because they don't run and are not encouraged by others to run as much as men. They assume they need more experience to run but when they do run they win just as often as men do.

There's an organization called emerge America that helps train women to run for office http://www.emergeamerica.org
I'm sure there are others like it.

Anyone here every consider running for office? What would you like to run for?

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Tags: Women politics

17 comments

petitenoisette
pear / 1521 posts

Nov 12, 2016

Here's an article that more comprehensively explains why women don't run with linked studies http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/25/upshot/the-problem-for-women-is-not-winning-its-deciding-to-run.html?_r=0
macintosh
pear / 1750 posts

Nov 12, 2016

I'm glad you posted this. I was literally googling local elected office elections the other day. I have zero time to do that now, but maybe some day I'll run for school board.
lovehoneybee
GOLD / wonderful pea / 17697 posts

Nov 12, 2016

A good friend of mine is thinking about it. She wants to transform her "feminist anger" into something productive. She signed up with the She Should Run Incubator, which I'm guessing is the same idea.

I've thought about it, but I think I'd be a terrible candidate.
PurplePeony
pomegranate / 3113 posts

Nov 12, 2016

Right now is not my time for a variety of reasons, but I have always intended to run for office when the time is right. I feel like I should push that timeline forward in light of what's just happened, but logically I know that's not a good idea. But this is a great site for anyone interested: http://www.sheshouldrun.org. We badly need to start building a local base of smart, talented, principled people to feed into the state and national systems.
yoursilverlining
eggplant / 11824 posts

Nov 12, 2016

I would personally never run for office, but I agree that we need to encourage more women to do so. A good friend of ours is in Emerge America's class of 2017 and just got elected to our local school board! Emerge has been a great resource for her and I can't wait to see where she goes after the school board!
shellio
pear / 1614 posts

Nov 12, 2016

Thank you for posting this. I've had similar thoughts - more about encouraging and helping women and minorities to enter and stay in the pipeline, not about running myself. If anyone here pursues public office keep us updated!
agold
grapefruit / 4045 posts

Nov 12, 2016

I've always wanted to be on the city council! And I really feel there are a lot of women in politics, at least in California where I pay the most attention. And how about Kellyanne Conway? Like her or not, she's a pretty darn amazing woman in the political arena.
Mrs. Bee
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts

Nov 13, 2016

@agold: i thought she did an excellent job with the trump campaign.

running for office is not for me, but i think this election will definitely have many more women and little girls thinking about it! maybe this is the defining moment we needed to spur change.
808love
pomelo / 5866 posts

Nov 13, 2016

I'm not running for office but I am volunteering to serve as a chairperson to create a statewide summit for policy change in a career related field. My dad's forever girlfriend just finished serving terms on Board of Ed and it was an opportune time for her to be elected.
MrsKoala
cantaloupe / 6869 posts

Nov 13, 2016

This is a great idea! I wouldn't personally run for office because I don't want to be that much of a public person if that makes sense. The responsibility also scares me a bit but I know some great women who I think would be great for this!
petitenoisette
pear / 1521 posts

Nov 13, 2016

@yoursilverlining: that's awesome!
@lovehoneybee: I hope you will continue to encourage your friend! She's right we need to transform words into action.
@macintosh: the time commitment is hard. I also think women tend to think that they have to start with lower level positions (that you'd prob do concurrently with your normal job) which makes the time component even more challenging.
@agold: I think California is pretty well ahead of the rest of the country! Here are current numbers: http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/current-numbers. Not so great...
@808love: that is awesome, I think women in more leadership positions is just as important.
@MrsKoala: I hope you will encourage the women in your life to at least consider it.
@Mrs. Bee: I hope you are right!
petitenoisette
pear / 1521 posts

Nov 13, 2016

One group on this site I was thinking of specifically are SAHM that are looking to return to the workforce eventually. Who says that workplace can't be in politics?

Personally I love the idea of running for office but I don't know if I have what it takes. I also need to work on my "extracurricular" resume and community involvement. This election is definitely spurring me right jos to get more involved and I am really trying to hold myself to doing so.
Finfan
persimmon / 1436 posts

Nov 13, 2016

Thank you for posting this! Looks like I just missed my state's deadline for the 2017 program but I'm going to apply for the 2018 program. And my oldest will be in school full-time then too.

I've been thinking about running for school board (fairly large district) or township board (very small township) but we haven't lived here long and I need more contacts. This would definitely help.
Cole
grapefruit / 4649 posts

Nov 13, 2016

I appreciate you posting this @petitenoisette: I am going to a local meeting next week that some women organized to discuss exactly this issue. My immediate reaction was no way I could run but if I stop and think about my reasons they are primarily- I don't want people digging into my private life and being rude about me or my family, I hate the idea of raising money for a campaign and self funding is currently out of reach and here's the really awful one... I feel like I don't look the part, I am perpetually in leggings and a messy bun and I wear makeup once a month or so- I absolutely know this *shouldn't* be an issue but let's be real, ruining into people a week before an election looking like in fought a war with my toddler and lost isn't going to boost voter confidence.
agold
grapefruit / 4045 posts

Nov 13, 2016

@petitenoisette: it actually takes a lot to run for office but I imagine the degree of which depends on your city and the position you are running for. My city council is actually a "big deal", for lack of a better description. It takes a lot of money and can get "interesting" behind the scenes. I have someone who has been willing to back me if I ran. But the public scrutiny seems daunting.
pastemoo
cantaloupe / 6146 posts

Nov 13, 2016

@petitenoisette: I might run for coroner after I finish school.
ShootingStar
coconut / 8472 posts

Nov 13, 2016

I could get behind the idea of holding office - championing causes and bills that are important to me and the people I represent. But *running* for office is something that doesn't appeal to me and I don't think I'd be very good at.

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