The new women in Congress work for real bipartisanship
As newly elected congresswomen are poised to color Washington, D.C., blue, one wonders what effect they’ll realistically have on the gridlock known as the House of Representatives.
At final count, 101 women, mostly Democrats, are headed this way come January. Will they — or can they — work with Republicans?
A popular assumption is that women, solely by virtue of their gender, are somehow better equipped than their male counterparts to find solutions. But are women in 2019 really so eager to form circles, thrash seeds and communally suckle our relatively infant nation into a more mature and efficient version of itself?
Another assumption counters the other — that women only pretend to work together while actually backstabbing each other to get ahead. Catfighting may be an outdated stereotype, but it didn’t come from nowhere.
To begin to answer these questions, four women — two from each party — put their heads together and created a one-day, bipartisan confab this week to discuss issues on which women can find common ground. The organizers recognized that social issues remain divisive, but a myriad of other concerns provide opportunities to work together.
Tuesday’s summit, where I moderated a panel, was attended by leaders from government, media, industry and national organizations, such as AARP. Included were female executives from Facebook, Johnson & Johnson and Best Buy, as well as Susan Spencer, editor of Woman’s Day.
On the eve of the summit, a reception offered a peek at a selection of female leaders eager to share a glass of wine and exchange business cards. Afterward, a much smaller group sat down to dinner to test the waters for bipartisan opportunities. Seated across from each other were Stephanie Schriock, president of Emily’s List, which drafts, trains and supports pro-choice women for public office, and Sarah Chamberlain, president and CEO of the Republican Main Street Partnership. As political figures, they certainly disagree on some issues, but as women, they agree on far more.
Democratic Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois broke down the woman-to-woman dynamic with a sports analogy. This is Washington, after all. The congressional women’s softball team is made up of both parties, and they play together against a team of female journalists. A corresponding group of congressional men play against themselves — Democrats versus Republicans. To Bustos, this difference in their respective rosters speaks loudly to the way they conduct the nation’s business. Women are more naturally team players, while men tend to be more oppositional.
Chamberlain, whose organization aims to discover what suburban women care about, reported that between 2012 and 2017, most were concerned mainly about jobs and the economy. Then, as of January 2017, the emphasis shifted to health care, especially coverage for pre-existing conditions. One can easily deduce what caused this sudden refocusing of priorities: the new president’s planned assault on Obamacare.
Spencer, whose magazine’s 20 million readers tend to live in states between the coasts, echoed that health care is a top concern among women. Nancy LeaMond of AARP spoke of the challenges faced by caregivers, 60 percent of whom are women. When I pointed out that 40 percent of caregivers are, therefore, men — and, wow! — I was reminded that women also typically take off more time for childbirth and child care, so that the added caregiver role for older parents is yet another layer of non-compensated time away from work.
Other members of the panel I moderated included Sens. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat, and Deb Fischer, a Republican, both of whom have worked to mitigate some of these effects. Fischer co-authored legislation as part of last year’s tax bill that extended tax credits to businesses that voluntarily allow employees up to 12 weeks of paid family leave.
Time will tell whether women are as mutually supportive once reality sets in and they have to contend with their own caucuses. On one issue, meanwhile, we can be certain of bipartisan accord: There aren’t enough restrooms for so many women — only four stalls outside the House chambers. Now there’s an issue on which all women can find common cause.