Our first speaker was Grace Sperry. Grace is the newest member of the WRC of SLC, and she is also running for representative of Legislative District 31 this coming November. Grace shared her reasons for running, as well as her desire to bring about good government. She's dissatisfied with frivolous and excessive legislation. She desires improved transportation throughout the State, and would like to see transportation monies used more effectively. We wish Grace success this Fall, and hope to see one of our members as an elected legislator. If you'd like to assist Grace with her campaign, please email her at gracesperryd31@aol.com. I know she'd appreciate monetary donations, as well as grassroots support.
In addition to Grace, we heard from Kitty Dunn, Vice Chair of the Utah GOP. The following is a summary of the notes I took as Kitty spoke. Therefore, any errors are mine.
Why are women hesitant to run for political office?
1. Their parenting skills come under attack.
2. There is a difference in the perception of qualifications.
3. Gender bias
4. Women think they need to be more qualified than their male opponent.
5. Women are typically not recruited by the party.
Most legislation affects home life and the family. Wouldn't a woman's perspective as a legislator be more beneficial than not?
Remember, you don't have to do it all now. Do some of it now. Learn everything you can now, and when the time is right, push forward; full steam ahead.
According to a survey, 60% of the men who run for office think they are qualified to do so. Comparatively, less than 40% of women with the exact same qualifications think they're qualified to run.
Women who run for office will often list everything they've done in the past as a way of trying to validate themselves. Men don't do this. Men typically reference passion, leadership and vision. Instead of stating what you've done, focus on what you're going to do.
Women, intuitively, have the skills necessary for running for office and for fulfilling the duties of the office.
The party needs to be better about reaching out to women. Don't wait to be asked to run. Do it.
Over the next two years, let's work together to identify, convince and recruit more women to run for office. Remember, once selected, she will need a support group; and that is the job of federated clubs such as ours. We need more women to be involved in all facets of public life.
The highlight of the Women's Leadership Summit on Friday, September 24th will be the workshops. Much time was spent selecting the presenters. The workshops will educate women on the ways to effectively and successfully pursue a political career. If you haven't registered, please do so. This will be a phenomenal event that you don't want to miss. The Utah GOP has also developed a mentoring program that will be implemented as a follow-up resource.
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On another note, the Honor Event of September 11th is approaching very quickly. We still need monetary and in-kind donations. If you haven't already done so, will you please telephone one or two of your personal contacts and secure a donation? Nothing is too small. Let's work together and make this the special event it's supposed to be. Thank you.
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