Why do women miss out on the best networking opportunity around?

Last night I had the great pleasure of watching a candidate I support win a primary for a US Senate seat.  The only damper on the evening?  The lack of 30 and 40-something businesswomen in attendance both last night, during the campaign, and at the voting booths.  Now, this is a bipartisan post, but I will be using a Democratic example, and you'll see why. 

The candidate I’ve been working for (as a member of their online rapid response team) is Martha Coakley, who is running for Ted Kennedy’s vacant Senate seat.  If she wins the special election on Jan. 19th, 2010, she will be the first female Senator from Massachusetts.  She would also be the 18th female Senator in Congress.  Coakley has opposed the Stupak amendment and will likely continue to be an advocate for women and has been recognized by the White House for her work as an AG taking on the financial industry. 

Now, before my Republican friends jump down my throat, I only included those details to show that if ever there was a candidate likely to attract the female demographic, she ranks up there.  Yet, where were the women?  There were Boomer women there (although in remarkably lower numbers than I would have thought), along with their young 20-something daughters.  In contrast, I think our male colleagues were out in equal or more numbers in all age groups.   From what I could see of the other candidates' events (on the large TV broadcast they had playing), they seemed to have similar demographics.  

So, here’s my question, why the heck are women missing out on the great networking opportunities provided by political campaigns?

I'm really not sure why my peers are all sitting home and not participating, but here are some thoughts I had on why women need to step it up (and I don’t care which party, or which candidate).

• Politics is serious business.  No one will ever take women seriously in business if they don’t have a presence in this business arena. Just look at a list of campaign donors:

• Here’s a link to the Massachusetts donations for the current Special Election:  http://www.opensecrets.org/races/contrib.php?cycle=2010&id=MAS1.  See any of the companies that are in your target market?

• And for national elections, there is Fundrace (http://fundrace.huffingtonpost.com/), where you can look up what the higher ups in your company, potential clients, or your competitors are doing.

• There are no barriers to entry.   Political campaigns require money.  Politicians don’t care who gives them money.  A $250, $500 or $1,000 check pretty much gets you VIP status and access to any event(s) you want, which means access to others who have similar resources.  Women often complain that they are still not invited to “VIP events”.  Well, VIP events cost money, and if you can write that check, every door will be open to you.  How can you afford it?  Refrain from writing lots of little checks to various non-profits/campaigns and instead write one single check to a single organization/campaign.

• Campaign events make networking easy.  Everyone involved in a campaign has a common goal/interest.  You can read up on the issues beforehand. And the nice part is that you already know it’s perfectly acceptable to talk about politics.  In just a few minutes last night I met a number of attorneys, many of whom were partners in their law firms, the owners of a telecommunications company, the president of the National Women's Political Caucus, the director of the Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus, one of our Downtown Women's Club members, and I could go on.

• It’s easy to play a role.  Here’s the different things you can do:

• Write a check.  Find out what you need to donate to get invited to an event.  Campaigns run events where the ticket price can vary from $50-$1,000, I’m sure you can find one in your budget.
• Fundraise. You probably do this for non-profits, why not try it for a political candidate in a race that you feel strongly about.  If you bring in $500, $1,000 or $5,000, you personally don’t have to write as big a check to get VIP status.
• Volunteer your time or skills.  Whether it’s making calls from a phone bank, holding a sign for a morning or joining a campaign’s online tweeting/blogging team, you get to meet the other volunteers.  And, these are all free networking opportunities.

• Vote.  It’s not just running for office, making donations, or volunteering time to the campaign.  It’s also about voting.  Wouldn’t it be nice if a campaign cared about what businesswomen think as opposed to “soccer moms” and “security moms”?  I certainly don’t fit in either of the two latter categories.  But, what would have happened if businesswomen had stormed the polls in this single Massachusetts primary election (for either or both parties)?   I guarantee you in the next presidential election, the politicians and pundits would be caring about what businesswomen think.

The bottom line for businesswomen is:  if we don’t show up on the ballots, in the campaigns, or at the polls, then no one is ever going to care about what we think or take us seriously.

Comments

[Paula Harris]

You raise a terrific point with this post.

I just got through running a fundraiser last Friday night for Charlie Baker, candidate for MA governor. I have made the greatest connections with some terrific people through the process.

I strongly encourage businesswomen (or any women) to get involved in politics: at the local, state or federal level. Last year I ran for office in my town and won. Now I serve as a library trustee and enjoy being connected better to the town.

Next month, I'll be attend the Women for Brown fundraiser on January 5th, in case anyone wants to join me.

Paula Harris
pharris@whcornerstone.com

[Mary Rettig]

Why are not more business women attending Political events? Good question. I agree to get notice you need to be there. I think it is a negative mindset that I am only one I can not make a different but it needs to change.Women need to be educate that they can male a differences.

[Diane Danielson/CEO, Downtown Women's Club]

Thanks for comments! And, way to go Paula. (even if we may have different political views, as stated above - I think both parties would benefit from more women). I've had a few people tell me that the lack of 30 and 40-something women is due to child care. And, I agree - it makes it tough to do it all. But, I think it's about priorities. Visibility in politics and business is the first step to women being taken more seriously. Once working women are taken more seriously, then we can help change the educational system, the gender gap, health care, the environment and even the economy to better suit OUR needs - not some 1950s idea of the nuclear family.

[Paula Harris]

A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.
--Margaret Mead

There is so much that folks can do even from home so I don't "buy" the child care reason. I think it's partly priorities and thinking "why bother".

Each one of us can and do make a difference, if we just try.