Author: Erin Benedict
Election Day, Nov. 5, is coming fast. Are you excited? Anxious? Ready for your mailbox to stop spitting out political fliers?
However you are feeling, we hope you will vote in this November’s election like the future of our young people depends on it, because it does.
At Mountain Mamas, one of our values is to “seat Mamas at the table where decisions are made.” In addition to fighting for climate justice, clean air and water and abundant public lands, we also have the lofty, but totally doable goal of removing barriers for more women to run for office.
We believe that women, and other underrepresented groups, have valuable insight and perspectives that need to be present and heard.
While anyone who identifies with our values is welcome to be a Mountain Mama, members who most naturally gravitate to our membership are caregivers who want to ensure that their kids and grandkids grow up with wide open public lands, clean air and water and a healthy environment. Conservation is obviously a big issue for them, and according to a recent member survey, so are reproductive rights, education and electing female leaders.
In Montana, we have a proud heritage when it comes to female leaders.
We’ve probably all heard the name Jeannette Rankin. She was the first woman ever elected to Congress, taking office in 1917. Now, more than a 100 years later, women only make up 32% of the current Montana Legislature. And in Montana, we haven’t had another female elected to Congress since Ms. Rankin.
Talking to women, I’ve heard time and again that they do not feel like they know enough to testify at a hearing, to run for office, to sit on a planning board.
Yes, they love taking their kids hiking and fishing, but when it comes to conservation issues, they don’t feel like they have the knowledge to engage in the conversation. Yes, they are frustrated about the increase in water rates, but attending a city council meeting doesn’t feel accessible.
Maybe they don’t have the time either. It’s no secret that women shoulder the bulk of the household duties while also trying to juggle a career, relationships with their friends and families, volunteering and on and on.
So, what can we do to get more women to the table when it can feel like just another thing being added to a to-do list? We can support one another. We can identify barriers that keep women from engaging in these areas. We can get creative to find solutions that make attending a 9 a.m. Tuesday meeting more equitable for caregivers and full-time workers.
These tables are not just in Washington D.C. and Helena. They are at your local school board, zoning board and planning board. Cities and towns across the state publish long lists of vacant seats that need filled all the time.
As a former journalist who covered small-town government and a former Three Forks City Council member, I can tell you that no one is born an expert. It takes time. You learn as you go. You ask questions.
The most important thing is: you show up.
So, this year, vote. And next time, maybe think about running yourself or look for open board and committee vacancies in your town.
You are more qualified than you think and there are many tables that would benefit from you being there.
Erin Benedict is Montana State Director of Mountain Mamas. She lives in Helena with her family.
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