Feminism Club Panel Meeting Recap: Women In Politics

Women In Politics- Panel by Feminism Club

(password for panel recording: “#Feminism1”)

This webinar’s goal was to dig deep into the reasons, context, and examples of women’s discrimination and struggle in politics. Having this panel was helpful for girls who are The panelists included (Jessica Hernandez- German diplomat, Claudia Bill-de la Peña- mayor of Thousand Oaks, Alecia Weintraub- Calabasas councilwoman, Andrea Lovall- Minnesota lobbyist). The panelists talked about how being a woman involved in any political venue meant that you had to have grit and confidence because you will be mistreated and disrespected by even mostly female groups of workers. They spoke on how pregnant women and mothers are always discriminated against and questioned on their ability to do their job simply because there is proof that they have a life outside of their career. The lobbyist spoke on how she cannot have proof anywhere near her during zoom meetings (even if her co-workers already know) that she has a child in her own home because people judge her on whether her attention is split ability is lacking because of her other duties. Women are always questioned on their ability in politics because of sexist reasoning or unfair immediate assumptions. For example, the level of qualifications must be higher than any man’s application just to be considered an option because of the sexist doubt of ability. For WOC, not only is their sexism that they must face in the political field but racism also majorly plagues women’s goings however they are involved. Mayor Claudia De La Peña spoke on one of her experiences with such things: when she was running for mayor, people would take one look at her name on the paper and judge and discriminate based on just that simple, unavoidable fact, even knowing who she was. This proved to be a challenge for her campaign because it set her back from only simply being heard in the first place, nonetheless running for leader of a, particularly conservative town. Women in the political field face many discriminations and struggle simply for being female. Women of color face even more so, on top of gender discrimination, politics have been built from a racist and racially biased base as well. So, as you can see, there is so much to learn and grow from in politics. If you are interested in hearing live testimony and experience, the panel recording link is in the title. 

*also anyone interested in Environmental lobbying has been offered to shadow Ms. Lovall- if interested contact Coach Kuehn (Speech & Debate)*