I came across this great graphic about women in politics I wanted to share -- not great in the fact that so few women think about running for office, but great because this sums up pretty clearly that women are still on the short end of real political influence in America. As for the question [...]
Who runs the world? Exactly who you thought. Just don't make me learn this dance to take part!
The White House Project. She Should Run. Take Your Seat. Emerge America. The 2012 Project. These are just a few of the groups that try hard -- really hard -- to find and recruit women to get into the arena with the political boys. Their common goal is to train and motivate women [...]
I sometimes use my experiences as PunditGirl's mother as a lens through which to view issues that are important to me. But PunditGirl isn't the only daughter in my life. I also have two adult step-daughters. They don't need me much at this stage of the game -- they're women with their own professional [...]
The theme running through my new book, Mothers of Intention: How Women and Social Media are Revolutionizing Politics in America, is empowerment. It's tough to get any traction for the voices of anyone other than guys when guys are the ones running the media and political shows in America. But the brave new world of [...]
You've probably noticed that nice promo box I've got sitting at the top right section of this site mentioning that my book Mothers of Intention: How Women and Social Media are Revolutionizing Politics in America is for sale! Yes!! Finally, after two years of work, my book is really for sale! But while I was [...]
Remember I told you last week about ten amazing women -- including some of my very good friends -- who were invited to go to Kenya by ONE to see firsthand the health and hunger issues in Kenya, especially for mothers and children? While at the BlogHer '11 conference this past weekend, I got a [...]
It was pretty hard to contain my excitement when I saw my book, Mothers of Intention: How Women and Social Media are Revolutionizing Politics in America. The book actually didn't come to me -- I went to it when I attended Book Expo America in New York City a couple of weeks ago. The distributor [...]
As the author of Mothers of Intention: How Women and Social Media are Revolutionizing Politics in America, I know there's a powerful connection between one's motherhood experiences and political inspiration. Having said that, there's a big difference between parenting experiences as a political motivator and being a woman politician who is defined by the media [...]
Guys have been running the Democratic National Committee for the past two and a half decades. The last time a woman was in charge of the nationwide Democratic show, we hadn't yet heard Bill Clinton deny that he'd had a relationship with "that woman." Takes you back, doesn't it? That's all about to change as [...]
I feel bad for the conservative/Tea Party political women who haven't gotten past the kind of high school behavior most of us hated. It takes soooo much energy to keep that whole "mean girl" shtick going while trying to work and raise a family in the real world. Even though middle school and high school [...]
I'm starting a new feature this week to focus on the many books that are out there on politics, social media and the intersection of those worlds. I'm excited to recommend as my first selection a new book by my friend and mentor, Gloria Feldt -- No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change the Way [...]
The primary phase of mid-term elections is usually considered to be a snooze-fest by journalists and politicos. But not this year. Aside from the attention that Sarah Palin has drawn for the Tea Party, Christine O'Donnell and her win in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat in Delaware formerly held by Vice President [...]
For many, tomorrow is Election Day. It's hard to imagine that we've arrived at another primary voting season, but there you have it. If you have a chance, I'd like to ask you to vote for one of my favorite Mothers of Intention. I'm not going to call them "mama grizzlies" because, well, I'm not [...]
What do CNN, Pepsi, and a U.S. Senator have in common? They all tried to reach out to the ever-growing, powerful and influential group known as women bloggers at this year’s BlogHer ’10 Conference. They all had slightly different approaches to turning online connections into real life results for their respective end games, all with [...]
The media love to mock women in the political world by using sexist terms that demean us and make us out to be something not worthy of serious consideration. We saw that time and time again during the 2008 presidential election as talking heads not-so-subtly suggested that Hillary Clinton was only a viable candidate for [...]
Last summer on our family vacation to Yellowstone National Park, we actually got to see a grizzly bear. Fortunately for safety's sake, it was from a very far distance while we were on a rafting trip, but I was surprised at its color. I had expected grizzlies to be dark brown, but the one we [...]
For some reason, Sarah Palin and her acolytes, or as she likes to call them, the "mama grizzlies," want us to believe that politically conservative mothers speak for all mothers and that they have a corner on common sense or on the political motherhood market. I beg to differ. "Sister" Sarah, I hate to break [...]
Here's a little light reading from the Mothers of Intention file to get you through the week! Darryle Pollack weighs in eloquently on a topic I've been thinking about, but for which I haven't been able to put my thoughts together -- the separation of Al and Tipper Gore. Julie Marsh wonders why the GOP [...]
I feel that I should write something thoughtful and analytical about the state of race in Massachusetts to fill the Senate seat of the late Ted Kennedy. But I'm too angry. Massachusetts Democrats blew a 30 percent lead to a Republican in a pick-up truck? Really? If this isn't a huge lesson in taking voters [...]
Everyone has been tweeting about the devastation in Haiti following the earthquake earlier this week. Actually, the devastation isn't done since aftershocks are still occurring. Lots of people are trying to help, but the roads are in horrible shape and there's no gas to put in the trucks to get the supplies from the airport [...]
I've had some interesting comments in E-mail discussions, Facebook posts, Twitter and other places about my last post on the attempts being made by former Congressman Harold Ford and his cadre of wealthy backers to push Kirsten Gillibrand out of her seat in the U.S. Senate. Because Gillibrand was appointed as Hillary Clinton's replacement, a [...]
You may have noticed that I'm not writing her quite as much as I usually do. I'm trying to keep my nose to the grindstone on my Mothers of Intention book project and make some headway before the holidays (to the friends who have been making sure I stay focused, I say thank you!) While [...]
I met some fabulous women at the Type-A Mom conference in September. Some were women I had admired in the blogosphere and met for the first time in real life, and others had blogs I hadn't yet discovered, but am glad I did. One of those great women is Allison from Everything Mom and No [...]
California First Lady Maria Shriver says we're now living in a Woman's Nation -- women make up half the work force, the majority of mothers are the main breadwinners or co-breadwinners of their families and women are in charge of 80% of the high ticket item household spending. That, says Shriver, is some power we [...]
It shouldn't come as any surprise that the North Korean government would use non-military Americans as political bargaining chips. "Convicting" Current TV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee of illegally crossing into North Korea and sentencing them to 12 years at hard labor (though it was suggested by the North Korean government they they aren't [...]
Welcome to this week's edition of Mother's of Intention! Instead of having a guest post, my guest Mother of Intention is someone I interviewed recently about the fight against global poverty.So many of us are trying to find ways to make a difference in our communities, sometimes politically and other times for social issues. We [...]
Why did it take the nomination of Sarah Palin to be John McCain's running mate to get the mainstream media talking to women bloggers about politics?On the heels of McCain choosing the Alaska governor, networks were scrambling to talk to moms. So what better place to find us, I suppose, than here in the blogosphere. [...]
Lilly Ledbetter.Coverage of pregnant women under SCHIP.And now, the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy, and Global Women's Issues.Women's profiles are rising, finally, now that we are in a Barack Obama administration and this step by the Senate to create a subcommittee to focus on the varied plights of [...]
Victories are beginning to add up for American women. President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. He's signed a law expanding health care benefits for women and children under SCHIP.And now, there's a chance that Kim Gandy, longtime women's activist, feminist leader and President of the National Organization for Women is a contender [...]
