The commentary was originally published in The Sylva Herald on March 8, 2019.
In January, the historic 116th U.S. Congress was sworn in, leading to more women, and more women of color, holding congressional offices than ever before.
According to the Pew Research Center, women now account for 24 percent of the House of Representatives and 25 percent of the Senate, a record for both chambers. And, according to Time Magazine, those seats are also filled with diverse women, including the youngest congresswoman, the first Muslim American congresswomen and the first Native American congresswoman. Publications such as the New York Times and public policy organization the Brookings Institution have referred to this as the marking of a new year of the woman. While it is a great accomplishment, we are not yet where we want to be.
March 8 marks the 108th International Women’s Day (IWD). According to IWD’s official website, this year’s theme is “Balance for Better” – a call to action for building a gender-balanced world. The event will be marked with local celebrations around the world, including one in Charlotte. However, despite increases in representation, various women’s movements, and celebrations like IWD, gender inequality is still a big problem, as there isn’t equal representation of women in our government.
Women have not historically been given the same opportunities as men to be represented in government, and have struggled for centuries to even have a voice. Thus, women’s unique perspectives and points of view are not heard as equally as men’s when it comes to policymaking – the same policymaking that determines decisions on issues such as wage inequality, reproductive rights and much more.
While women have indeed come a long way in terms of proving they can lead and handle these policymaking positions, we still can’t seem to get the same amount of representation. And without enough women in government to fairly represent our perspective, a younger generation of women are growing up in a nation where they don’t feel they have a say in issues that deeply affect their lives.
To make things more complicated, women’s ability to even run for office is compacted by those same issues women have an unequal voice in, such as wage inequality, which could influence a women’s ability to fund a campaign.
When women don’t have an equal voice and an equal and influential say in policymaking, their needs, wants and expectations won’t be met. Their unique points of view and experiences will be overlooked and neglected, and they will either never be heard, or have a tough time trying to sell their argument without the same amount of backup behind them a man would have.
Happily, Jackson County and North Carolina both have impressive numbers compared to national percentages, though that level of representation hasn’t always been the case here, and still isn’t the case in many places around the nation.
According to Pew Research Center, almost 29 percent of current N.C. state legislators are women. Jackson County has an even higher percentage of female office holders than both the state and national levels. According to the Jackson County Board of Elections, 75 percent of county mayors and 33 percent of town board members are women. And, according to the N.C. State Board of Elections, in the most recent general election, 36 percent of positions that represent the county or its district that were voted on were either retained by or won by women.
So, is it too much to ask for equal and fair representation? Doesn’t seem so for Jackson County. These kinds of numbers are what give young women hope. And although great strides have been made at all levels, we still have a long way to go. Representation is still unequal. We need to continue this improvement, with more women running for and winning offices. This brings equality. It is not time to give up and accept the status quo. Representation matters because it means having a voice in policymaking, a voice means being heard, and an equal voice means no one’s point of view overshadows someone else’s unique perspective.
Getting in the legislative door has been a challenge for women; staying there will be as well.
