This blog post was written by Donna Seymour for our 2018 PowHer The Vote campaign.

The two years since the 2016 election have been an object lesson in what happens when a country takes several giant steps backwards on the road to 21st century political leadership. It feels far more like the late 19th century than it does the first quarter of the 21st, these days.

But there is renewed hope for change in 2018 IF voters turn out in high numbers. There certainly have been plenty of reasons to get motivated about the sorry state of “leadership” in this country. We’ve seen turn backs on civility, the environment, on education, on equity, on ethics and a host of other issues.

So far, electing the same old, same old to office has gotten us the same old thing – power concentrated in the hand of the privileged few who feel entitled to do as they damn well please and woe unto anyone who says, “Wait just a minute!”

The Women’s March 1.0 in January 2017 unleashed something that has yet to be squashed – or completely realized. The momentum carried on in 2017 and Women’s March 3.0 is already in the planning stages for January 19, 2019. What could turn the tide is a host of newly elected women into local, state and federal office as the results of November 6, 2018 are tallied.

Women all across the country who previously showed little appetite for political office have stepped up to the plate this year. That sentiment was ably expressed by Senator Elizabeth Warren, who last week said,

“I watched as Brett Kavanaugh acted like he was entitled to that position and angry at anyone who would question him. I watched powerful men helping a powerful man make it to an even more powerful position. … I watched that and I thought, ‘Time’s up. Time’s up. It’s time for women to go to Washington and fix our broken government and that includes a woman at the top.’”

It not just the record number of women who have been nominated for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives that is helping to turn 2018 into the Year of the Women Candidates. In the US Senate, there are six states where the choice is between two women for office. (We’ll know after Nov. 6 if 2019 is going to be the Year of the Women Office Holders.)

Here in New York State, there are five state-wide Senate races where women are running for office against a woman incumbent. And we need those choices. Women make up just about 20 percent of Congress and about 25 percent of state legislators, on average. In New York, just under 23 percent of state senators are women. Will 2018 be the last year where two women candidates for the same office are seen as a news-worthy novelty?

Even more heartening, we’re seeing young women managing election campaigns for office. About 40 percent of the campaign managers for Democratic congressional candidates are women, according to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. That is a massive jump in campaign leadHERship just since the beginning of this decade. Helping a candidate to run for office is great training for running in your own right down the road.

It is hard to break the political glass ceiling, but the bottom line is, you can’t win if you don’t run. Many women candidates this year are making their first bid for elected office, rejecting the old school idea that you have to work your way up after years of paying your dues.

And women candidates bring a lot to the table. (As the old saw goes, if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu!) In a recent Pew survey, women fared better on most leadership traits than men.

Of the nine leadership qualities listed for political leaders, men fared better than women on only one (being willing to take risks); men and women were equally favored on working well under pressure. And of the 12 traits listed for business leaders, women fared better on all but three (risk-taking, being persuasive and making profitable deals).

Thirty-one percent said women were better at being honest and ethical — a leadership trait 91 percent said was essential for political leadership jobs — while 4 percent said men were better. Forty-two percent said women were better at working out compromises, compared with 8 percent who favored men, for a quality 78 percent said was essential in politics. (The remainder said they saw no difference.)  

Another change this year:  more women candidates are looking at their motherhood as a leadership strength, not as a liability they have to overcome. This NPR story looks at what candidate moms who are combat veterans bring to the campaign:

“Instead of trying to fit into an outdated template of what a candidate looks like, this year, women are really running unapologetically as themselves,” said Amanda Hunter at the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, noting a shift in strategy for women candidates. “So, really using their entire life experience and that includes motherhood [and] time served in combat.”

Amy McGrath, who is one of 12 women veterans have secured nominations for the U.S. House, with still more in the Senate, saw it as a smart choice to bring her own motherhood into her campaign. “Look, there might not be a whole lot of people that really can relate to being a fighter pilot. Let’s just be honest,” she said. “But there’s a ton of people that can relate to being a mom, because I am doing it right along with them.”

Want to know if electing more women really makes a difference? While it is too early to say here in America, there’s plenty of evidence from around the world that women’s leadHERship is good for civic, economic and political life.

When Iceland elected a female president in 1980, it set off a domino effect that turned it into one of the most egalitarian countries. In this small nation, there is a near-unquestioned conviction based on decades of evidence that electing women to positions of power benefits women and families. And at a time when American women, galvanized by the election of Donald Trump, are showing unprecedented interest in entering the political arena themselves, Iceland can provide both a roadmap and a promise for what’s possible.

The only question you have to ask yourself is, “What do we have to lose by electing more women?” If you like where this state and this country are heading, by all means walk into the voting booth on November 6 and vote for the same old, same old. If you think we can do better, use your ballot to be an agent of change. Give women’s leadHERship a chance.