The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
On Thursday, Oct. 29, I had the pleasure of attending a webinar with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). Senator Gillibrand began her career as a lawyer and decided in 2006 to pursue public service when she ran for the US House of Representatives. After serving as Representative of New York’s 20th District from 2007 to 2009, she now serves as a Senator for the state of New York. After a brief presidential campaign for the 2020 Democratic nomination, she now endorses the Biden-Harris campaign and hopes that this election cycle will flip the senate along with the presidency.
The first question the Senator was asked was one that I submitted, asking about her experience at Capitol Hill as a woman and her advice to future female senators. She explained how initially she ran for congress because she wanted to make a difference, and how she could not do it alone. Her volunteers who canvassed for her are what she says helped and she highlighted the importance of supporting the candidates we like. Later, she discussed how important it is that we level the playing field for women in male dominate spheres like politics and political journalism. “I believe that women have something to add,” she says, “we have to hold people [who are oppressing women] accountable.”
As a woman who has been in politics for about 14 years now, Senator Gillibrand gave some advice to aspiring future female politicians and reporters. “Women just have to keep pushing down barriers in all industries, so we can level the playing field, so more of our children can see women on television shows and women in leadership roles and read books about strong women and see women elected,” explained Senator Gillibrand. She emphasized how important it is to teach children now that women are valuable.
Her encouragement of other women to run is inspiring. She further stated, “Run for Congress or run for Senate … Don’t say ‘Oh I don’t have enough experience for that’ or ‘Oh I might need to do something else first.’ You know the guys don’t do that. They just run for the thing they want.” She also spoke about studies that were done by the New York Times that showed that women were better dealmakers in congress than men. Senator Gillibrand said, “Women have far more emotional intelligence. Women are often very good at finding common ground. We are very good at listening. We are often very good about reaching across the aisle.” She also advised young women who want to pursue politics to keep their heads up when opposers try to tear them down, stating, “I would listen to that Taylor Swift song that says ‘haters gonna hate’ … It’s not a popularity contest. You don’t have to win over everybody. You have to win over 50 percent plus one.”
Next, she transitioned to some of the issues facing this election and discussed what human rights would look like under a Biden-Harris administration. She spoke about how institutional racism is real and how it has “to be tackled everywhere.” She focused in on the disparities for women of color in healthcare and how much higher maternal mortality rates are for black mothers than their white counterparts. This then prompted the question about her thought on the future of American healthcare. “I believe that healthcare is a right, not a privilege. I think it’s important that everyone have access to healthcare. I think that for women reproductive rights are basic healthcare,” she said and then explained that her job for a Biden-Harris administration would be to pass legislation so that universal care can be put into place.
When asked about other major deciding factors in the election, she touched on COVID-19 response and healthcare. She criticized President Trump and his administration for not doing enough in their response to COVID-19. She said that Trump misused the power of the presidency and he could have done much more to streamline. Senator Gillibrand stated, “I think under different circumstances, a different president would have used the Defense Production Act, to make sure that we had all the swabs and the reagents and the PPE.” She also said that healthcare was a major issue facing the country right now and spoke about how a Biden-Harris administration was in favor of making healthcare more accessible to everyone.
The webinar ended just how it began, with a message to get out and vote. Voters have more options than ever this year—learn everything you need to know about yours at iwillvote.com. General election day is Nov. 3. Make your voice hear and vote before or by Nov. 3.
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