EMILY's List
Changing the face of Sunday’s suits
By Stephanie Schriock on 06/15/2010 @ 01:30 PM
I've had some time to figure out the way Washington works -- though I will never get used to it. I've trained myself to dream of my Montana summer breezes and cool mountains while trudging through DC's summer humidity. And I've gotten pretty talented at rounds of Spot-A-Politician when I'm out with friends.
I've also learned a bit about how the press around here works – what shows are reaching the most viewers and why certain issues always receive priority status. This week, Erika Lovely's front-page Politico piece does an excellent job highlighting a pattern many of us have noticed – and worked to change – in recent years: when it comes to Sunday morning, women legislators don’t get top billing. And often, they aren't even getting a seat at the table.
Meet the Press, This Week, Face the Nation. All the major Sunday morning shows provide incredible platforms for highlighting issues. Sunday mornings are for many of us about making coffee and catching up on the week's events (often around church). We watch carefully selected panelists and guests discuss the challenges our country faces and the ways they're working for change -- from both the views of Democrats and Republicans, usually. But, from the looks of things, men in suits are doing all the real work in Congress, because they’re often the only ones making appearances.
Lovely summed it up perfectly: "If it's Sunday, it's more men wearing dark suits."
You and I both know that the people in front of the cameras aren't the only ones making a difference; there are plenty of people working behind the scenes to put our country back on track. So does it matter who's serving as the public face of change? You bet it does.
For elected officials, this window of time each week provides a chance to showcase issues that matter most to them. Health care, education, foreign relations – you pick an issue, and I'll show you the women legislative experts whose voices we can’t afford to lose in the debate. While we certainly hear from some of top women leaders on Sunday mornings – including EMILY's List women like Janet Napolitano and Kathleen Sebelius who moved from elected posts to serve on President Obama's cabinet – moments with our elected women are few and far between.
Why is that? As Lovely points out, there are plenty of reasons, but I think we start with this one: the numbers. With women making up only 17% of Congress currently, it can be hard to compete with the 83% of male legislators making the television rounds. And, I know what it’s like to be a Westerner who spends a lot of time in DC -- women like Sen. Barbara Boxer and Rep. Zoe Lofgren -- both leaders and powerful committee chairs, must overcome geographic hurdles to tape these shows. It isn’t easy to film a weekend TV appearance in Washington when you’re working a bi-coastal job and traveling home to work and meet with constituents each weekend.
As President of EMILY's List, not a day goes by when I don’t think about how critical it is to elect more pro-choice Democratic women. Our women have made remarkable improvements in the lives of America’s women and families -- but we need more of them. We need their perspectives and their leadership -- and we also need to see them on TV, showing their constituents they're changing Washington and showing young women at home that "Congress" isn’t code for "men in suits."
According to today's article, female lawmakers composed 13.5 percent of the total Sunday show appearances by all representatives and senators this year -- an unacceptable, disheartening fact I’m determined to change. Because that's one part of Washington I don't ever plan on getting used to.
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