A few months ago, a dear friend of mine in New Zealand phoned to give me some exciting news: her country had just made history as female lawmakers in Parliament became the majority for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAbout blimmin\u2019 time,\u201d one of the women legislators told reporters as the country\u2019s legislative body tipped to 60 women and 59 men. Another lawmaker said she was \u201cjust really pleased that my daughters are growing up in a country where women being equally represented in public life is just normal. That\u2019s a great thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
True. Nevertheless, women remain largely \u201cunderrepresented at all levels of decision-making worldwide,\u201d cautions U.N. Women<\/em>. \u201cAchieving gender parity in political life is far off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n South Carolina is a disappointing case in point. The Palmetto State continues to rank in the Bottom 10 of the 50 states, with women holding just 14.7 percent of the seats in the legislature. (By comparison, women make up 60.3 percent of Nevada\u2019s legislature and 51.0 percent of Colorado\u2019s.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Things are better in Washington \u2013 but just barely. A total of 149 women will serve in the 118th <\/sup> session of the U.S. Congress (2023-2025), or 27.9 percent, compared to 27.5 percent in the previous session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, the research is clear: having more women in leadership changes how government works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Over and over again, according to Vox Media, political science research has found that having more women in leadership leads to more women-friendly policies, such as increasing paid family leave and prosecuting violence against women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What else happens when more women hold office? On average, women bring more funding back to their home districts than their male colleagues do. They focus more on family, children, and healthcare. They prioritize minority needs. They take a rehabilitative approach to crime and punishment. And, according to one American University study, women office holders \u201cwork harder for their constituents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Helping their constituents, securing more money for their home districts, prioritizing health, education, and family. What\u2019s not to like?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Experience shapes how legislators govern, and women\u2019s experiences undoubtedly are different from men\u2019s. Women need their experiences and their viewpoints to be understood \u2013 and incorporated into policy decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt makes all the difference in the world\u201d when more women are elected to serve, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA and president pro tempore of the U.S. Senate), told CNN. \u201cWomen at the table, making the case,\u201d can change the agenda, agreed Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). Both veterans of more than 30 years in Congress, this female duo is known for working on family issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s said that a \u201ccritical mass\u201d of office holders \u2013 usually described as 25 percent to 35 percent \u2013 is needed in order for women to overcome their minority status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the U.S. Congress today, women legislators have barely edged past the minimum point. In the South Carolina Legislature, women are nowhere near attaining a critical mass, let alone a tipping point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s about blimmin\u2019 time to change that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A few months ago, a dear friend of mine in New Zealand phoned to give me some exciting news: her country had just made history as female lawmakers in Parliament became the majority for the first time. \u201cAbout blimmin\u2019 time,\u201d one of the women legislators told reporters as the country\u2019s legislative body tipped to 60…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jan-collins.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jan-collins.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jan-collins.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jan-collins.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jan-collins.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=483"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jan-collins.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":484,"href":"https:\/\/www.jan-collins.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483\/revisions\/484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jan-collins.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jan-collins.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jan-collins.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}