Will 2010 Be the Year of the Woman?

By Skyla Freeman | 6.23.2010

It’s a good time to be a conservative woman, possibly the best in almost a century. Since 1917 when the first female representative, a Republican, was elected, the days of ground-breaking collaboration between women and the GOP have gone downhill. Democrat women have slowly but steadily grown their numbers in national office, while Republican women remain the minority’s minority:  in the House, a mere 17 of the 73 female representatives are female. It’s even more dismal in the Senate, where only four conservative women hold office. In recent years, commentators and pundits have spilled a lot of ink to analyzing what went wrong. Now it’s time to talk about what’s going right.
 
The number of female conservative candidates in 2010, the highest ever, promises to change the landscape of American politics. One of the major reasons for this increase is Sarah Palin. Just as Geraldine Ferarro’s candidacy in 1984 emboldened Democrat women to seek office, Palin’s run proved that Republican women could stand their ground on a national ticket. And it helps that, despite a lack of initiative by the RNC in recent years, Republicans have a small but solid foundation to build on. The Bush Administration was a quiet champion of female empowerment; the 43rd President appointed more women to his cabinet than any previous president, and four of those appointments were firsts for women. 

But as Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of the Susan B. Anthony List observed, Sarah Palin “is the wind in the sails for this election cycle,” influencing the high number of women who have chosen to throw their hats in the political ring. And her encouragement of female candidates, particularly in the smaller races, is crucial. National candidacy begins at the local level, and it as at the local and state levels that support, funding, and encouragement have been most lacking. That’s one of the reasons why Project GOPink’s work is critical; even with fair winds, the election process is challenging. Inspiring conservative women to run, and providing them with training and resources, can make the difference between sinking and swimming.
 
Palin, as an inspirational figure, has encouraged many women to run for office this year. Win or lose, that’s good for the party. But the more women who run and succeed in local and state elections, the greater our future impact will be. More female city mayors and state representatives now means more representatives, senators, governors – and presidents – in our future.

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Skyla Freeman (http://skylafreeman.com/) is a writer, speechwriter, and blogger passionate about culture, politics, and women’s issues. She is a four-year veteran of the White House, where she served as a writer for President George W. Bush.