Volume
1 Issue 4 - June 2001
Natalie Davis
"Would Alabama be different if fifty percent of the Legislature was composed of women?...I even think it would be a better place."
By Natalie Davis
We keep hearing that Alabama is 47th in this, 45th in that, 50th in something else. Almost all of the indicators point to low levels of commitment when it comes to the whole question of taking care of our people. Whether it's education, children, seniors, or quality of life, Alabama seems to rank at the bottom on a fairly consistent basis. Any number of rationales have been offered-we are a poor state; we are under-taxed; we are under-educated. I have another take on this. I think we would rank better on most of these quality of life indicators if more women were elected to public office in Alabama.
It is no accident that we rank 50th in legislative effectiveness and 50th in the number of women in the Alabama Legislature. This has to do with the inability of our Legislature to make law and public policy which can positively affect the quality of life for all of our citizens. Please do not assume I'm just in a male-bashing mood. I have never made the argument that women are better or smarter. I don't think we are. But I do think we bring a set of rich experiences which, taken together, allow us to see the world differently and create priorities which our fathers, brothers, and husbands, do not share. Women are by and large the caretakers of our society. We birth children, we send them to school, we work with them on their homework, we take care of the health needs of our family, and we take on the burden of caring for our elderly. It is not that men don't share these concerns--of course they do--but they confront them less on a daily basis. We see these problems in ways that differ from our male counterparts.
Would Alabama be different if fifty percent of the Legislature was composed of women? Would we set different priorities? Would we spend more time fixing the education mess than worrying about casinos and video poker? I think the Legislature would be a different place-I even think it would be a better place.
In the 1998 elections in Alabama, we took steps to improve on all of this. To that point, only six women held legislative seats-in 1998, the number nearly doubled to eleven. Let me review what else happened in 1998; I think you'll be surprised. I counted twenty-one different statewide offices on the ballot. From Governor to Attorney General to State Treasurer to State Board of Education, eleven of the seats were won by Democrats and ten by Republicans. Of the eleven won by Democrats, eight were women; only one woman Republican was elected statewide in the 1998 cycle. In the year 2000, some women won again. We are moving in the right direction, but we need to move more quickly.
There are enormous obstacles for women who run for public office in our state. We have interest groups and power brokers who could care less about the bottom line in governing. What they care about is keeping what they have and being sure no one else gets a piece of it. That works against the public interest, and it works against electing women. Women tend to raise embarrassing questions; they almost always seriously challenge the status quo. They see an issue and want to resolve it. That has not been our history, and consequently, power brokers tend to see women as rather threatening.
But if all of us -power brokers and average citizens-are willing to understand that by keeping our eyes on the prize, that is, by thinking beyond our self-interest, we can do better. A number of women will be running for public office in the 2002 elections. Take a look at them. Think whether our state would be better if those woman were elected. Forget whether she is challenging an incumbent. Forget whether she has held public office before. Forget whether she comes from a different part of the state from where you live. Think independently. If we can do that, I think we can elect more women, and if we elect more women, the state will be better for it. All of us -power brokers and average citizens-need to realize that when we keep our eyes on the prize, when we think beyond our self-interest, we can change Alabama forever. Our children will thank us for it.
(Natalie Davis - no relation to Artur Davis - is Professor of Political Science at Birmingham-Southern College. She currently serves as President of THE ALABAMA SOLUTION, a non-partisan organization which supports women running for public office in Alabama.)
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SIEGELMAN FAILS LEADERSHIP TEST
Commentary By: Donald V. Watkins
U.S. SENATOR JEFFORDS SPLITS FROM REPUBLICAN PARTY, POWER SHIFTS IN WASHINGTON
SPECIAL BULLETIN:
LEGISLATIVE SESSION ENDS WITH GOOD NEWS FOR CONSUMERS
ALFRED SEAWRIGHT KNOWN AS "RISING POLITICAL LEADER"
WATKINS RESIGNS ASU TRUSTEE POSITION (the actual resignation letter)
Q: WHY WOMEN? A: WHY NOT WOMEN?
By: Natalie Davis
MIDDLE CLASS BLACK VOTERS KEY TO VICTORY IN 2002 ELECTIONS
By: Artur Davis
DEVIL RAYS NOT FOR SALE, WATKINS EYES OTHER VENTURES