It is not too late to score for you to score big in the primaries and ensure that we have our first female president. This would be incredible step forward for all American women. But you must earn their vote: you cannot on the novelty factor of being the first serious female contender in our history.
The polls indicate that you are not capturing enough of the women's vote; but you could make those numbers change. Single twenty-something women are reputed to be the largest single group of undecided voters. They could make the difference. What do they want? What will inspire them to take the trouble get to the polls and vote for you? I doubt it will be the "oh so careful" middle of the road position on all issues for which you are famous; or your competition with middle-aged politicians comparing how you stood on the Iraq War and offering tepid exit strategies. I suspect these these activities cause their bright young eyes to glaze over.
As Graduate Dean at Berkeley for the last seven years I dealt with thousands of single young women in their twenties and I think I know what they want. They want both careers and families. They want to be teachers, lawyers, engineers, biologists, doctors. social workers, doctors and professors; but they also want a family. This generation has deferred marriage and motherhood by nearly a decade; still, most expect to find a life partner and have at least one child before their biological clock runs out at about 40.
But they are worried. They worry that they will not be able to handle their work and their family responsibilities. They know that childcare is impossibly expensive and notoriously unreliable. They understand that there is some accommodation for family leave, but it may be unpaid. They know that part-time work in their chosen professions is poorly paid and insecure. They fear that Social Security may not be adequate for them -- and if they leave the job market to take care of their children for any period of time, it may not be there at all. They know that mothers before them, maybe even their own mothers, have had to give up their dreams to handle the realities of family demands.
These are not the "welfare to work" mothers, who get plenty of political attention, of the "get this problem off my back" variety; these women will not even register on the poverty radar screen. Still, money is a problem. Most will begin their career with a college debt, If they are law students, MBAs or medical students, their loans will be staggering. Even if they have a spouse, single breadwinners can no longer manage it alone. Motherhood does not exempt women from a lifelong obligation to work. Over 60 percent of all mothers return to the workplace within six months following childbirth. Equal participation in the workplace has not, alas, translated into equal compensation. More than 40 years after the Equal Pay Act of 1964, women still earn about 70 cents to a male dollar. These women are not thinking about "pin money," they are demanding real wages.
Senator Clinton, it is not too late to develop a fully fleshed out "working mothers" federal policy . Here are some of the top hits which would catch the attention of my twenty-something students.
*A Federal initiative for pre-school and after-school childcare for all families: a fact in many European countries
*A flexible work place that allows both mothers and fathers time off to accommodate pregnancy and the critical right- to re-enter a full-time track when they are ready to do so.
*Part-time work that receives equal compensation to the rate of full-time work, with full benefits for those who work at least 50 percent of the time. This may be a permanent choice to many parents.
*Family leave that is fully paid for a minimum of 16 weeks (only California comes close to this goal.)
*Social security benefits which count periods of childcare at home
Senator Clinton you could simply say something like:
"In traveling over the country these past months I have become acutely aware of the fact that young American women are faced with impossible choices. They want to become equal participants in the American workplace and yet the structure of our workplace is still based on an early twentieth century model. We want and need women to become the skilled workers and leaders of America, but we must do more to help them and their families to handle the challenge. We will work to make the American workplace a fairer and more family friendly environment for our aspiring young American women and men."
Thank you Senator Clinton. If you adopt these critical reforms and consider them a binding promise,. I will sign up before work to cast my all important vote as will millions of young women.
Mary Ann Mason
Oakland, California
Mary Ann Mason is a professor the University Of California , Berkeley she served as Graduate Dean from 2000-2007. She is the author along with her daughter, Eve Mason Ekman of "Mothers on the Fast Track:How the New Generation can Balance Career and Family.