KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A town hall Tuesday night featuring women in politics had a clear message: More women need to get involved from running for elected office to helping candidates get elected.
“We know that women are underrepresented in public leadership positions in Missouri, Kansas and across the country,” said Claire Bishop, executive director and chief operating officer of American Public Square in Jewell.
State Reps. Jamie Johnson, Patty Lewis and Laura Williams helped moderate Kansas City’s town hall on women in politics.
United WE and American Public Square in Jewell helped to strain conversations on the inclusion of women in elected positions.
More than 120 people signed up for the event, according to Bishop.
“In Missouri, we have never had a governor who is a woman,” said Wendy Doyle, president and CEO of United WE. “We don’t have any women representing us in elected office at the state level.”
Doyle says women in the House and Senate make up 18-23% in any given election cycle.
“They need to be encouraged to take the next step and run for public office, and many women are frankly saying, ‘The state of the public discourse being what it is, it’s a no-no for me,'” Bishop said.
During the town hall, the participants were talking about some barriers that prevent women from making the decision to get involved.
United WE says a partnership with the University of Kansas researched what those basic barriers were.
They found that when women have a mentor when they run they are more successful.
Age, self-selection, campaign attacks and how representation isn’t always top of mind when thinking about giving back were also mentioned.
“I literally just told my friends before I left here, ‘I’m going to this city hall, vote for me in 3-5 years,'” said Abbey Schoenrade, who lives in Kansas City. “It’s something that’s always been a goal of mine. I feel like I’ve gotten in over my head, so I put it away or push it to my to-do list, but going into politics is something I definitely want to do.”
“Education is something I’m very passionate about and equal access to it,” Shoenrade said. “It’s not always about what we can win, it’s also about what others will win.”
United WE says they know women have an interest and are qualified, it’s getting them to support, prepare and ask to serve.
“We see more interest at the local level, women running for school board or city council, but we really want representation at all levels of government,” Doyle said.
