“Women have all the power,” my best friend always used to say, “too bad they don’t know it!”
Original Blog Post – Spring 2011Go To: Part I – Party, Part III – Electoral Reform
Party Leader -“Wanted: A Female Moses”
“Women morph into totally different creatures when granting authority.” writes 
Andrea Tantaros from Fox News, “We get thick-skinned. Bossy. Become bullies or borderline masculine. Females arguably work twice as hard to achieve power than men do, even to this day. If we’re smart but also attractive they call us bimbos no matter where we went to college, how many degrees we have, or how many languages we speak. If we’re tough they call us bitches. “Emotional” equals weak. Passionate? Critics’ code for crazy. And no matter what we look like you can bet we’re getting scrutiny from both genders on our hair and wardrobe. Just look at Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin. Would anyone argue they’ve had it easy?”
I say, embrace the negatives and turn it around! Really this argument is nothing new and this type of behavior should be expected Senator Poy reminds us that the Famous 5 “combated such opinions with logic and humor, winning the fight for women’s suffrage, a basic human right. It’s because of their words – the weapons women use, that the Famous 5 were so successful in their lives, shaping Canada as we know it with a series of firsts for women.”
Uncle Sam Needs a Wife!
On female leadership, Ida Clyde Clarke wrote in her thesis that “Uncle Sam Needs a Wife” in which she finds a thousand flaws in man-made government. It was calculated to show how the feminine touch would set things right. One of the chapters was titled, “Wanted—A Female Moses.” where she found that women needed a leader “—one has chosen not by men, but by themselves—“ and proceeded likewise to state what, in her belief, constitutes the inadequacy of certain women leaders of that day. I’ve underlined the positive traits that list for good leadership.
“As for the group of women office-holders:” writes Ida “Whatever may be said of the several women elected thus far, they have not been placed in office through the interest of or by the votes of women. Alice Robertson (Representative from Oklahoma in the 67th Congress) “not even reflected the views of organized women.”
Miss Jeannette Rankin, who goes down in history as the first woman member of Congress, though a woman of dignity, ideals, a feminist and a progressive was never appreciated by American women. They paid very little attention to her and seemed to know little and care less about what she was doing. Always dignified, always well-informed on issues that were before the American people and always on our side, she was a woman in whom we might have taken pride. But she has dropped into obscurity and is little known among the activities organized women of today.”
Judge Florence E. Allen: “A few women are placed in high’ positions through the active interest of women. Conspicuous among these is Judge Florence E. Allen of the Ohio Supreme Court. Judge Allen, personally and professionally, is a worthy representative of the highest type of American women. At home and abroad, she arrests attention and compels admiration. If she is a sample of the result of hand-picking on the part of women, for goodness sake let’s hand-pick some more of them! As for me, I am satisfied to let the world look upon Judge Allen as typical of the best that American womanhood has to lay upon the altar of public service.” ~ First Woman Criminal Court Judge, Ohio Supreme Court
“Mrs. Carrie Catt has power and ability. She could perhaps be our Moses 
if she had patience and penetration. But she is impatient of the sluggishness of organized women to move toward any definite object, and she frets over their impotency…Mrs. Catt could point women’s way to world peace because she is statesmanlike and clearheaded, but she lacks imagination and the magnetism that all really great leaders must have. Her appeal is to the mind and not to the heart and the mind is slow to work when the heart is cold. ~ Women’s Suffrage Pioneer
Jane Addams sees a century ahead, and she sees a clear path to the light for which we are groping—but she sees but one path. If we won’t take that path, she walks on alone and leaves us to wonder along as best we can.” ~ First president of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for 1931
“Mrs. Winter, for four years president of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, seemed to have many ideal qualifications for the leadership of her particular group, but outside of that group women were not inclined to follow her.”
“Winifred Mason Huck, young and clever and ready to proclaim and stand for certain ideals that many of us applauded, served a fraction of a term in Congress because she was the daughter of a politician with a following—a following which she inherited at his death. Women neither selected nor elected her.” ~ First Illinois Woman to Serve in Congress
“Alice Paul satisfies entirely the demands of her particular group of ultra-progressives, but her following is comparatively small.”
Personally, I’ve always liked, Sheila Fraser, in fact, Ms. Fraser was voted 6th place out of 10 in a recent poll done by Reader’s Digest for the most trusted Canadian? She even fits within all the words I underlined in Ida’s list :
-
- a woman of dignity and ideas who is always well-informed;
- Power and ability,
- patience and penetration,
- imagination and magnetism,
- states-womanlike and clearheaded,
- sees a clear path, clever,
- ready to proclaim and stand for certain ideals,
- arrests attention and compels admiration.
- a woman of dignity and ideas who is always well-informed;
Politics is the art of asserting pressure and this woman has established her reputation on credibility and accountability, that’s one civil servant Canadians can trust. Sadly, Sheila Fraser’s ten-year mandate as Auditor General expires May 31, 2011.
Senator Poy
“There’s still a lot more to accomplish,” says Senator Poy “and like the Famous 5, we can’t be complacent.” She suggests, reestablishing the section in the long-form census that assessed the contributions of women through unpaid labor; pay equity; violence against women and poverty are all in need of our attention.
For example, she quotes the 1970 Commission on the Status of Women recommendations that Canada is in urgent need of a National Daycare Act. That was 41 years ago, today the need for such an Act is imperative. Both the Liberals and the NDP have budgeted about $3.3 billion over four years to building affordable, high-quality child care centers across the country. Their plans are more similar than different and both are committed: Universal childcare is the first promise the Liberals made in their platform, and the NDP vow to enshrine it in law — like Medicare — so a new government couldn’t scrap the plan without a debate in the House of Commons.
In 2006, after a painstaking year of negotiating agreements with each province and territory, the Liberal minority government launched a $5 billion program to build new child care spaces across the country. Then, a non-confidence vote triggered an election, and the Conservatives came to power. One of the first things Harper did was kill the program.
Perhaps a women’s political party can help to broaden the discussion in our foreign policies and assist those abroad who are lobbying for women’s rights, including the right to delay marriage and inherit the land. “Canada can help women in developing countries become agents of change,’ says Katherine McDonald, Executive Director of Action Canada for Population and Development. “A full debate about women’s reproductive lives should include access to abortion. But it isn’t the only conversation worth having.”
The Famous 5 opened the doors to politics for Canadian women and fundamentally changed Canadian society’s perception of what women could accomplish.” concludes Senator Poy, “By doing so, they paved the path for all of us to follow.” She concludes and then leaves immediately after the presentation to fly to Brussels.
The meeting continued with questions, comments, and announcements from the audience. Just when I began to muse about the idea of a women’s political party, what one might look at and why we haven’t started one, a lady stands up and introduces herself to the group.
“Hello, my name is Sharon and this is Esther. We have come here today to introduce a new political party we’ve formed called the Women’s Alliance Party of Canada and we are asking for your support by signing an electoral form to get the party registered with Elections Canada. We need a total of 250 signatures ….”
Wow! Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter now because the process is well underway. Sign me up!
“Women have all the power,” my best friend always used to say, “too bad they don’t know it!”
Stay tuned for Part III: Do We Really Need a Women’s Political Party? – Electoral Reform
