Female trio snaps a streak of chairmen

For the first time in recent memory, the majority of Penn student government leaders, excluding class boards, will be female. Perhaps the three most powerful branches of student government -- the Undergraduate Assembly, the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education and the Nominations and Elections Committee -- will be headed by women next year. Lindsey Mathews will lead SCUE, while Anne Hankey will serve as the chairwoman of the NEC. Newly elected UA Chairwoman Dana Hork completes the female trio. According to Director of Student Life Fran Walker, during the last five years, the number of women holding the top position in the UA, SCUE, the NEC, the Social Planning and Events Committee and the Student Activities Council has never exceeded two. In fact, during the 2000-2001 term, all five leaders of these student government branches were male. Walker said she does not feel there is any particular reason behind the election of more women to leadership positions in student government this year. "It's not that the men did a bad job last year or anything like that," she said. "I think it's probably more coincidence than anything else." At the same time, Walker expressed pleasure at the election of women to these positions. "But obviously, I am happy that it happened, after a year with all-male leadership," she added. Hork, the first female head of the UA since 1990, said that much to her delight, the UA has become more diverse during her years at Penn thus far. "I've gone from being on a UA that's been mostly Greek white males to one that's more diverse in all aspects, gender included," she said. "I think it's important to bring more faces to the table," she added. The College junior said that while she has been at Penn, only one executive board position has traditionally been filled by a female -- if there's been a woman on board at all. However, Hork added that females make up a larger part of the UA as a whole today than a they did a few years ago. Mathews noted that she is not the first female SCUE chair since her time at Penn. During 1998-1999 -- Mathews' freshman year -- Rachael Goldfarb headed the organization. "I think SCUE has a pretty decent history of female leadership," she said. "It's not half- and-half, unfortunately, but every few years there's a female." Mathews added that in the last decade, there have been at least three female heads of SCUE. Like Hork and Mathews observed, Hankey said that there has been a growing trend of female membership in the NEC as a whole, as well as on its executive board. During 2001-2002, only one male will serve on the executive board. When Hankey was a freshman, during the 1998-1999 school year, Neha Champanena became the first-ever head of the NEC. "Since I've been at Penn, we've had a female chairwoman every year except 2000-2001," Hankey said. "Before I came to Penn, it was all [male chairs]." The College junior also said that women head many Penn student groups outside student government. "I think in a lot of organizations on campus, women have really taken a lead," she said, citing UMOJA and the Latino Coalition as two groups with women in leadership positions. "The people who've really stepped up on the [NEC] to accomplish things have been women," Hankey explained. "And I think that's really, really great. Hork noted the unique leadership and communication styles that men and women bring to the table. "It's not better or worse, just different," she said. Mathews agreed there is a difference between working with females and working with males. "I think there's a different dynamic to working with men versus working with women, but I don't think it's necessarily a negative thing," she said. All three women said that their existing relationships with each other will be beneficial when it comes to student government matters. "We can build off our friendship and also have a strong working relationship," Hork said. "We understand each other's leadership styles." In a similar vein, Mathews said she is looking forward to working with both Hork and Hankey. "I'm really excited to have Dana and Anne to work with," she said. "[We have a] closeness that can actually exist between female friends." Hankey said she is thrilled about having the opportunity to work with the other two female leaders. "I'm so excited to work with them, because both of them are just really, really amazing women," she said. "They're both really driven."