Emerge sign at the Women’s March
We’re now two weeks into the presidency of the most misogynistic president in modern history. Already, Donald Trump has shown that his turn in the Oval Office will be one that will be remembered for its attacks on women, minorities, the LGBT community and working-class Americans. The energy created by women’s marches is great, but it’s now time for the women’s movement to step up and prepare for action. We must seize on this moment and galvanize our cause into a force that will carry us into the future. Here are 6 strategies for us to employ in 2017 and beyond.
1) Nothing is more important than diversifying political power.
The women’s movement benefits most when we have a reflective slate of progressive female candidates. To be truly intersectional, our movement must empower women from all walks of life, especially those who continue to be underrepresented. Unfortunately, right now progressives, especially progressive women don’t have nearly enough political power. Republicans control the presidency, the Senate and the House of Representatives. They control the governorships, the majority of state executive offices and 67 of the 98 partisan state legislative chambers. We know when they are in power, they push through policies that restrict women’s access to healthcare, denies them equal pay and allows discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. We can no longer neglect down ballot races. We have to go after control of our government at all levels if we want to push our agenda through. We have 520,000 political offices in this country, and we need women to be running for positions from school board to U.S. Senate. We can’t just fill the pipeline—we have to flood the pipeline.
2) Stop working in silos.
Whether you care about reproductive rights, guns or the environment, we all need to join together to focus on electing shared champions and pushing back against the new administration. We have to call out Trump as a “Minority President” to remind voters that he was not elected by a majority of Americans and create a shared vocabulary to galvanize and strengthen our cause. But pushing back together doesn’t stop at the federal level. This year, our rights will be under attack at the state level too, as conservative governors try to push through legislation that will attack everything from our reproductive rights to our right to vote. Being united in our message and working together to push back against these toxic policies will help us build political power.
3) We must become permanent activists.
The women’s marches in Washington and across the country were a great start but one protest isn’t going to be enough – we must be ready to fight a longer, tougher battle. Taking a page from Reverend Barber’s Moral Mondays we must plan on not only organizing marches, but also using phone calls, letters to the editor, showing up at town hall meetings and sit-ins, if needed. Recently, a group of progressive campaign staffers used the success of the Tea Party to draft their Indivisible Guide, which makes use of the “local, defensive organizing” tactics that remain hugely impactful at the national level. We have to commit ourselves to taking part in these grassroots activities in addition to the bigger, national events. Only sustained action can build the kind of movement it will take to overcome the malicious policies and legislation we are already seeing some lawmakers and the new administration put forward.
4) Flex our economic muscle.
According to Forbes Magazine, “If the consumer economy had a sex, it would be female. Women drive 70-80% of all consumer purchasing, through a combination of their buying power and influence.” Can you imagine if progressive women decided to regularly boycott certain companies, products, or news outlets? We saw the impact that this kind of economic pressure can have last year when lawmakers in North Carolina passed a law prohibiting discrimination protections for LGBTQ citizens. The law became a national controversy overnight and generated widespread economic backlash, including the cancellation of NCAA tournament games, the NBA All-Star Weekend, and job-creating projects by PayPal and Deutsche Bank. This drastic financial fallout convinced many North Carolinians, including the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Phil Berger (R), to advocate for its repeal. Just last night, Nordstrom announced it would no longer be selling Ivanka Trump’s name-branded line of clothing and shoes after an extended boycott by an activist group called Grab Your Wallet. We must support and fortify Grab Your Wallet and similar efforts to make our voices heard.
5) Assemble a permanent cabinet of thought leaders.
We need a diverse group of spokespeople to carry our message to the public. During Hillary’s campaign, we saw many high profile leaders emerge to lend their support. We cannot let these champions be demonized as the “Washington or Hollywood Elite.” Their voices can help us reach new audiences. We saw how effective having advocates, activists, electeds and celebrities at the Women’s March on Washington was in bringing everyone together. When celebrity activists like America Ferrera, Janelle Monae and Amy Schumer lend their support and bring in their constituencies it strengthens our ability to reach audiences who might not already be politically engaged. We need to continue to employ a varied roster of people who can amplify our message and reach potential new supporters.
6) Finally, we have to involve men in this movement.
Women cannot do this alone. We need good men to stand beside us in this fight. In order to do this, we must use inclusive language and avoid any kind of “male bashing.” There are many Democratic men who voted against Trump and were vocal critics of his campaign, and we need them as our allies. To borrow a phrase from Hillary, we are stronger together.
As the President and Founder of Emerge America, an organization that recruits, trains and provides a powerful network for Democratic women across the country, I look forward to working with the public, other organizations and stakeholders as we take advantage of this unique moment in history. Emerge will continue to do our part by recruiting, training, and providing a powerful network for Democratic women interested in running for office. Will you step up with us and answer the call?