In a speech encouraging young women to see themselves as potential political leaders, Marie Wilson of the Women’s Leadership Fund and the White House Project discussed the results of a recent poll with an audience of young women at the Girls Nation leadership conference in Washington, DC. The survey, conducted by the White House Project Education Fund, showed that 50 percent of women aged 18-24 would consider running for political office to work for a specific issue they cared about, and 75 percent believed that politics and government would be improved by electing more women. Young women, while turned off by the male-dominated and money-motivated climate of the political world, are more likely than their male peers to be motivated to run for office to work on particular issues, and would benefit greatly from mentors and the stories of “ordinary women” who have made accomplishments in a particular area. Aside from needing female role models in office who have made accomplishments and gained recognition, girls need to learn about successful women in politics who have made strides on a particular issue of interest because young women see running for office as a means to accomplish change, not just as an end in itself.
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