"It's satisfying to see [elected representatives] are more reflective of the population they represent," said Charniele Herring, BA economics '93, Democratic caucus chair of Virginia's House of Delegates. Photo by Buzz McClain.
More than 120 students, faculty and staff attended the inaugural Pennino Panel on Gender and Policy on Wednesday, Feb. 27, at George Mason University’s Arlington Campus.
The panel, “Can Women Save Democracy? Women Political Leaders in the Time of Trump and #MeToo,” featured a high-powered group, including U.S. Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-Va.; Democratic Virginia Del. Eileen Filler-Corn, the first woman to serve as Virginia House of Delegates minority leader in 400 years; Democratic caucus chair of the Virginia House of Delegates Charniele Herring, BA Economics ’93; Democratic Del. Ken Plum; and former Virginia secretary of education Anne Holton, who is now a professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government.
The 90-minute discussion was organized and moderated by Schar School professors Bonnie Stabile and Toni-Michelle Travis, both directors of the Gender and Policy Initiative.
The consensus at the end of the discussion was that women have made great strides in elective politics but still have much to do. Wexton pointed out that the current U.S. Congress has more women than ever but is not near parity with men.
Herring, who has been a Virginia delegate since 2009, said that the recently recessed legislative session in Richmond boasted the most diversity, including the most women, she has seen in her career.
“It’s satisfying to see that [elected representatives] are more reflective of the population they represent,” she said.
Among the issues facing women eager to enter the political arena, Holton said, “is income inequity. Because income inequity is gender inequity.”
Holton added that women seem to have “a narrower range of style options” when it comes to governing.
“I had to use more sugar than force, which I might have [done] anyway. But I certainly had a narrower range of acceptable alternatives,” she said.
Plum, a 30-year veteran of the Virginia House who has never had the chance to cast a vote regarding Virginia’s Equal Rights Amendment—which died in committee again this year—said the “crusty old men who ran this place for decades clearly didn’t have the skills to do it right.”
He added that he has seen the pace of women reaching elective office increase substantially.
Filler-Corn, the first mother to lead her party, recalled opponents holding up posters of her children and insisting that “if you want to make a difference in kids’ lives, raise your own.”
“But we [women] have to [run for office],” she said, “because we know what’s in our hearts, we know our values are on the right side of the issues, on the right side of history.”
The annual Pennino panel discussion is named after the late Martha V. Pennino, a long-standing member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors who also served on Mason’s Board of Visitors. A video recording of the event will be available at a later date.