Political start to Women's Week

“The question will continue to be raised: are we there yet?”

To kick off Women’s Week, political commentator Donna Brazile pressed a crowd of about 40 students and faculty on the state of women in politics in Houston Hall Monday night. The week-long campus initiative, sponsored by several groups, aimed to bring gender-specific social issues to light.

Brazile opened the week’s dialogue — which bears the theme of “Women in Media and Politics” — by encouraging the women in the audience to get more involved with politics. Brazile served as the first African American woman to direct a major presidential campaign when she worked for Al Gore in in 2000. She currently contributes political commentary for CNN.

"We need people who are willing to be in the driver's seat and ask for directions," Brazile said. She then cited statistics showing that America is ready for a female president. However, she also mentioned a backlash against this movement that she believes is partially due to the media’s influence.

Brazile further explained that women are judged heavily by their marital status and how they are dressed, and that the stereotype of women being overly emotional still exists.

She challenged other pre-existing stereotypes as well, listing women in power such as Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who is chairwoman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as women who transcend these stereotypes and are changing the country’s political climate.

Brazile joked about some of the questions she has been asked during interviews over her career. She was once asked, for instance, whether Hillary Clinton’s crying during the 2008 campaign was a product of pre-menstrual syndrome.

“That’s not PMS. I know PMS,” she responded. “She’s not emotional — she’s passionate.”

Dialogue needs to take place on how to open doors for women and minorities on a political level, Brazile asserted. She shared her belief that there is still a bipartisan double standard for women as well as a media that strives to cater to the desires of its audience.

Graduate School of Education student Lana Xu said she found the speech inspiring. “We can still do a better job,” she said, noting that the United States ranks 73rd in terms of the number of women in office, according to Brazile.

College freshman Manusnan Suriyalaksh felt inspired by the speech to address the gender imbalance in politics. “I can do something as well,” she said.

Women’s Week lasts until next Saturday, featuring one to three events each day. The week is “a way to reach out to all different women on campus,” Penn Consortium of Undergraduate Women chairwoman and College senior Kaneesha Parsard said.

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