If you're a progressive in this country, then you should be really upset that only 17 percent of the U.S. Congress is women.
At EMILY's List we are dedicated to patching this gaping hole in our representative democracy, and we've come a long way: We've helped elect 15 pro-choice Democratic women to the Senate and 79 the U.S. House, along with nine Democratic women governors and hundreds of state legislators. It's a long-term project. Success comes incrementally, and only if we leap on every single opportunity to elect new women.
It's about more than just mere numbers. Having women in office is vital to the health of our democracy because women play a unique role in our society. By and large, women are still the primary caregivers in families, even as we have taken our place in the workforce. This is what we mean when we talk about the pressure women face balancing work and family: Mothers are typically the first line of defense when a child gets sick; adult daughters are by and large looked to when an aging parent needs care. All the while, families depend on women's paychecks to meet the rising cost of health care, education, gas -- life.
So when Congress puts together legislation addressing the economy, health care, long-term care, education, Social Security, prescription drugs, fuel economy standards -- you name it -- we need women at the table participating equally in the decisions that will have profound impact on all our lives.
A token one, or two, or five, is not enough. I'll say it again, a little differently: For every woman in Congress, there are more than five men. Seventeen percent is hardly equal inclusion when women are 51 percent of the population. We lag far behind other nations. This abysmal ratio is a travesty and something everyone who cares about progressive values should take personally.
Which brings me to the special election in Illinois's fifth congressional district, where on March 3, Democrats will choose a nominee to replace Rahm Emanuel. This Chicago-based district is heavily Democratic, so whoever wins the nomination will be the odds-on favorite to go to Congress. This open-seat race has attracted a large crowd, but there's only one woman in the top tier, and she's got a 14-year record of passing progressive legislation that's really made a difference in the lives of women and families: state Rep. Sara Feigenholtz.
Sara's record is dazzling. She's behind laws guaranteeing equal pay, requiring insurance companies to cover contraception, and increasing access to breast and cervical cancer screening and treatment. She led the fight to expand the state's FamilyCare program to cover low-income parents. She increased funding for AIDS treatment and for in-home care for the elderly. She is 100 percent pro-choice and cosponsored legislation codifying reproductive rights in Illinois should Roe v. Wade be overturned. She sponsored the law protecting Illinois citizens from discrimination based on sexual orientation and has consistently supported hate crimes legislation. And Sara has consistently received high ratings from both the AFL-CIO and the Sierra Club. Sara Feigenholtz is a true blue progressive with a record of results.
We progressive activists who have worked so hard are justifiably excited about our 2008 victories and the tremendous potential for change our new president and Democratic Congress represent. But our representative democracy can work only if it truly represents the population. It's time to put more women in office. And EMILY's List will seize every opportunity, in upcoming special elections and in the 2010 cycle, to try to even things out.
Ellen Malcolm is the president of EMILY's List.www.emilyslist.org