00:00It's the 21st century and women continue to be dramatically underrepresented in U.S. politics.
00:06In worldwide rankings of women in the national legislature, the United States scores 76,
00:12below even Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia.
00:16Most women are happier at home.
00:18Turn on the television and it's not hard to find the sexist messaging and bias
00:22that discourage women from even trying to run for office.
00:26Is there something about the female brain?
00:30Aren't you more prone to be scatterbrained?
00:32I mean, you're just all over the place.
00:34There's got to be some downside to having a woman president, right?
00:39Something.
00:40Despite all of this, there are women who are working to create real change.
00:44So we went to Boston, the home of much of this country's democratic foundations.
00:49Boston is a bastion of liberal politics,
00:52but also the birthplace of many of the country's oldest boys' clubs.
00:57While the recent election of Senator Elizabeth Warren is a sign of hope,
01:01Boston still has very few female elected officials.
01:05We came here to meet the women who are making a difference.
01:08As soon as you think you're ready, step up and serve.
01:12Finding the courage to run for office.
01:14I had no name recognition.
01:16So people were saying, who is this girl and where did she come from?
01:20And changing the system.
01:22When there are more women at the table, the entire conversation changes.
01:35We're going to go speak with Adrienne Kimmel,
01:37who is the executive director of the Barbara Lee Family Foundation.
01:40This foundation focuses on collecting research that women need to get into politics,
01:45stay in politics, and climb the political pipeline.
01:51What do you think some of the barriers to entry are
01:54for women who are interested in joining the political landscape?
01:58Well, I think there are a few barriers.
02:01One of the things I like to talk about a lot is the kind of chicken and egg issue
02:05that comes up with women in politics.
02:07Because in many ways, we need women in office
02:10in order to implement the very policies
02:12that would make it easier for women to enter politics.
02:15For example, paid family leave, universal pre-K.
02:19One of the biggest barriers that our research has found that women face
02:23is they have to be both qualified and likable simultaneously.
02:27And those are two dimensions that are totally unlinked for men,
02:31but they rise and fall together for women candidates.
02:34So men can get elected based on their experience,
02:36but not their likability.
02:38That's right.
02:39The other piece of information that I think is really interesting
02:41about our foundation's research is that women hold an advantage automatically
02:46around being perceived as honest and ethical.
02:49And that is one positive opportunity that women have in terms of seeking office.
02:54However, if they are pushed off that pedestal,
02:58or if they are seen for some reason as not being trustworthy,
03:01it is much, much, much more difficult for them to climb back up onto that pedestal.
03:06Voters simply expect women to be better.
03:09So what is the political landscape for women here in Boston?
03:12Well, Boston, in a lot of ways, is the oldest of the old boys' clubs, right?
03:17We're talking about the home of Plymouth Rock.
03:19We're talking about the home of the oldest working constitution in the country.
03:25And so we have seen, while we have extremely progressive policies in many ways
03:29and have consistently in Massachusetts, politics has lagged behind.
03:34We have never elected a woman mayor of Boston.
03:38We've never elected a woman governor of Massachusetts.
03:41So it's almost like we're taking the scenic route to equality here.
03:46But at the local levels in particular, we're seeing women get into office.
03:51We're seeing women run.
03:52And that's really inspiring for me.
04:00We are here at Boston City Hall and we are on our way to speak with councillor Michelle Wu.
04:06Michelle is a rising star in Boston City politics,
04:09currently running for a second term in office.
04:12She was the first sitting councillor to be pregnant while serving,
04:15an experience that led her to accomplish her biggest legislative victory,
04:19paid family leave for city workers.
04:24Tell us why you decided to get into politics.
04:29You know, I never thought I would be in politics when I was younger.
04:34I didn't see a lot of people who looked like me in government.
04:37It wasn't until a series of family situations that led me to all of a sudden see how much it
04:44matters.
04:45It matters for schools that you're trying to send your kids to.
04:49It matters for health care.
04:50It matters for small businesses.
04:51And I wanted to do something about it because every time that my family had interacted with government,
04:58it was pretty frustrating most of the time.
05:00When you look at studies, men and women, when they run, they win at the same rate,
05:05but there's obviously a lot less women in politics than men.
05:09What do you think prevents women from running?
05:12It's a big ask to put yourself out there.
05:18And I think that starts from when you're really little.
05:22How you see yourself and what jobs you imagine that you might be able to do.
05:27The most famous Asian American woman when I was growing up was Michelle Kwan.
05:32And so people told me, it felt like every other week,
05:36that I should think about becoming a figure skater one day.
05:39So you associate yourself and your potential future with the examples that you see.
05:46And when there aren't as many women in politics,
05:49I think girls don't believe that that's something that they should be thinking about.
05:54And then when the time comes and you have a motivation, you want to do something about it,
05:58there is that level of self-questioning, right?
06:04And it's internal, it's external.
06:06And when I met with a lot of folks who knew a whole lot more about politics than I did,
06:12a good number of them said, you know, maybe you should just sit tight, just wait,
06:18get a little more experience.
06:21So I think from both directions, women are asked to sit and wait and behave, right?
06:28In a lot of ways.
06:29And when you look at who is making decisions and who's at the seats around the table,
06:35it's not people who sat and waited their turn.
06:43I'm Andrea Campbell.
06:44I'm running for Boston City Council.
06:46Hi!
06:47One woman who's not waiting for the political system to give her her turn is Andrea Campbell,
06:52who's running for City Council in the 4th District of Boston.
06:55This is her first time seeking public office, and her opponent, Charles Yancey,
07:00is a 32-year incumbent, making this election particularly challenging for her.
07:06They had heard about me.
07:07Yeah?
07:08Good.
07:08That was very good, yeah.
07:09They say they're going to vote?
07:11Yes, siree.
07:12What inspired you to run?
07:14I was working as an attorney for Governor Patrick, and I was in this space of what is next.
07:19Hi, how are you, sir?
07:20I found myself praying a lot about what's my purpose, what's my God-given purpose, what's my assignment.
07:27Baby, you got my vote!
07:28Oh, thank you!
07:29Oh, my goodness, thank you so much!
07:32You're welcome.
07:33And ultimately felt like this run for City Council is what I heard in response to those prayers.
07:39Ultimately took the leap of faith after thinking about the loss of my twin brother.
07:43And my twin, his name was Andre Cycled, in and out of the criminal justice system, ends
07:48up passing away while in the custody of the Department of Correction, which meant that
07:52he was in sort of a prison setting when he passed away.
07:55He was 29 years old.
07:57I'm so sorry.
07:59And I share his story often because I ask myself the question, how do two twins born and
08:04raised in the city of Boston have such different life outcomes?
08:07You know, I left Boston Latin School, which is a prestigious public high school, to go
08:12to Princeton University, to go off to law school, and the blessings for my life continue to
08:16flow.
08:17And when I think about my twin brother, you have to ask the question, what's sort of wrong?
08:22And I realized I just got more things, I got more opportunities, I went to better schools.
08:28I just got more coming out of the city of Boston than he did.
08:31There is some excitement with this race, in that people are just happy that someone would
08:39muster up the courage to challenge the establishment, to challenge the status quo.
08:48Why do you think it's important for women to enter the political landscape?
08:53Oh, it's so important.
08:54It's so important.
08:56We bring a different perspective.
08:57I think being a woman is, in the political space, is not easy.
09:04It's dominated by males, particularly in Boston, it's dominated by white men.
09:10And I think women obviously have different experiences.
09:14We bear the children.
09:15We are often, at least in District 4, the head of households in this community.
09:21We are working two or three jobs to make ends meet.
09:24And sometimes these, this struggle isn't reflected in the conversation at City Hall.
09:29And I think when you have a woman in that space who can speak to some of those experiences,
09:35pushing for policy changes that men may not even think about, it's extremely important.
09:42We have nine days to go.
09:43I don't want people to know I'm going to keep working hard, so I keep getting out here.
09:47You definitely have my vote.
09:49Nice to meet you.
09:50Because that's Jennifer's house.
09:51There she is again.
09:53She's doing well in the neighborhood.
10:03I am so happy to support Michelle.
10:06And I hope you all get out on the polls November 3rd, spread to your friends, your neighbors,
10:10your family.
10:11Get them to vote for Michelle.
10:13All right?
10:13And with that, I want to introduce our out-of-line City Council, Michelle Wu.
10:19How do you encourage other young women to get into politics?
10:25My biggest advice is just to go for it.
10:28As soon as you think you're ready, step up and serve.
10:31Because the truth is, we need you.
10:33Women's issues are family issues, and these problems can't wait.
10:37But at the end of the day, we have to get things done in government for people.
10:41We have to remember why we're there.
10:43It's for the residents.
10:44It's for the neighborhoods.
10:45It's for the families.
10:46On November 3rd, both Michelle and Andrea won their elections by a wide margin.
10:52I want to thank every single person that came out to vote for me tonight.
10:58Because without you guys, none of this is possible.
11:03I say all the time, whenever I meet girls or young women, think about how much we need
11:09you in office.
11:10Just think about doing this for the rest of us.
