Twelve-year-old Eliza Goehl  lives in Bloomington, Indiana, the home of Indiana University and she attends Harmony School. Eliza wrote this paper as part of her sixth grade graduation project on legislation and women in politics. She hopes to earn her college degree in journalism and hopes to attend Cornell for graduate school to earn a degree in law.  “I wish that life was longer because I would like to be a journalist, lawyer, judge and senator! Hopefully, some of my dreams will come true,” said Eliza.  Eliza was inspired to write this article by the campaign of Hillary Clinton for president.

Women in Politics, by Eliza Goehl, guest contributor ElectWomen Magazine

Why is women’s participation in politics an important issue to consider? Most people don’t understand how few women are involved in politics. Here are some of the facts: only 17% of Congress is made up of women! Out of the one hundred members in the Senate, only sixteen of them are women.  In the House of Representatives there are four-hundred thirty-five Representatives, and only 72 of them are women. This is in a country where women account for 51% of the population. The United States has never had a woman President or Vice President. The U.S. is ranked 84^th in the world for women’s participation. During the past 220 years, only 2% of Congressional seats have been held by women. At the current increase rate, it will be the year 2076 before women achieve equal representation in Congress!

When I started this project my main goal was to meet some women who have experience in politics as well as attend city and county council meetings to see what the real legislative process is all about. I contacted Regina Moore, the Bloomington City Clerk. This is an elected position that is responsible for maintaining the city seal, working with city council, and creating an atmosphere were the community feels welcome to participate in the city government. Regina encouraged me to attend the Democratic Women’s Caucus Meetings, a large group of women who work together to support each other in becoming more active in politics. They also work to inspire young women to get involved in politics. Regina invited me to join her at several events that became an important part of my experience.  

For the experiential component of my project I paged for Vi Simpson, attended multiple Democratic Women’s Caucus meetings, observed City Council meetings, and joined the Democratic Women’s Caucus at a special fundraising event, An Evening with Madeline May Kunin.

On January 26, 2009, I applied and was selected to page for state Senator Vi Simpson.  Serving as a page is an opportunity that is offered to kids between the ages 12 and 18. The purpose is to show young people how the legislative process works. Pages are responsible for delivering letters and other communication between Senators. When I first arrived at the Indiana Statehouse, I walked though the security check point with metal detectors and luggage screening. It was strange to imagine walking into work every morning and being searched.  This made me realize how different it was from our local city council chambers. Next, I signed in and got my access card. Another sign of “the real deal” is that before entering a new room you have to scan your access card.  For a portion of the day we learned interesting facts about the Statehouse, delivered sealed notes to Senators, and took a tour of the building. In the afternoon we watched a Senate session. I was expecting people to be sitting in their chairs and everyone taking turns talking. I was wrong. During the entire session, Senators were walking around the room, eating, drinking, and even checking their emails on laptops. As bills were announced for second reading, people would continue conversations not even breaking to agree that the bill could be moved on to third reading. I was introduced to Vi Simpson after the Senate session and we had our picture taken behind the podium along with Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman.  Vi Simpson is an extremely successful female politician, and I am so glad that I got to see her job in action.

Another amazing part of my project was getting to know so many fabulous women at the Democratic Women’s Caucus Meetings. A caucus is similar to a committee; however, it implies that the group is political. The Democratic Women’s Caucus is a group of women working to promote women’s role in politics. They support women who are becoming, wishing to become, or already are involved in politics. The Caucus holds a breakfast meeting the first Friday of every month at the Village Deli.  When I first heard about the meetings and was invited to join them, I was expecting about 25 women to be there sharing information and planning upcoming events. Instead, I was surprised to find that it is more similar to a show than a meeting. There are over 50 people at each meeting, and they are not just Democratic women; there are many men at these meetings as well. Most people think of politicians as being serious. Of course when they are working, they are usually productive, but they are also very funny and welcoming. These meetings focus on getting to know your community government, your state government, and your federal government and what role females play in these levels of politics. It is inspiring to see so many women working together for what they believe in, especially in a town as small as Bloomington. 

Another thing the Democratic Women’s Caucus does is plan events that host different important people to come share their information and experiences in Bloomington. I was very lucky to attend an event that was sponsored by the Democratic Women’s Caucus, An Evening with Madeline Kunin. Ms. Kunin was the governor of Vermont from 1985-1991, she was also the first and only female governor of that state. In addition she was also the first Jewish Governor of Vermont and the first female Jewish governor in the country, and served as the Ambassador to Switzerland from 1996 to 1999 under the Clinton Administration. During the month of March, National Women’s History Month, Madeleine Kunin came to Indiana University’s Student Union. When I arrived, I talked with Julie Thomas, who was recently elected to County Council, and who is another strong woman I am lucky to know. As we walked around the reception, she pointed out important people and introduced me to many of them. I was honored to hear “I’ve heard of you” from many of them. I am sure I blushed every time. I was introduced to Madeleine Kunin and she signed “To Eliza, you are our future! Madeline M. Kunin” on my copy of her latest book Pearls, Politics and Power: How Women Can Win and Lead.  In the book she talks about her experience as a woman in politics and gives advice for women wishing to be politically active. Hearing her talk in a room full of successful politicians was extremely inspiring.

There are many opportunities to become involved in Bloomington; however, I never realized how much political action there is in this small town. The best part of my project was discovering a whole new side of this small town; I now feel like part of the democratic sisterhood in Bloomington. It is amazing what life changing experiences can come from one email or phone call. I am glad to know that there is a strong group of people working to involve women in political movements. I am now more excited than ever to go confidently in the direction of my dreams.