This past Thursday, HC UCLA had the chance to attend an exclusive virtual press conference hosted by Her Campus with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, NY. Kirsten shared her thoughts on young people voting in this election and shared salient advice to women seeking a job in politics or any industry.
The Importance Of Voting:
Senator Gillibrand emphasized that the most important thing that young people can do right now is to vote! She stated, “If young college-age women don’t vote, then those who get elected won’t actually represent our values.”
Some of the issues that Gillibrand stands for are universal healthcare, reproductive rights, decriminalizing marijuana and implementing maternal mortality protections, which she stated is disproportionately higher for Black women. However, she believes that to push forward this type of legislation, we need to elect a new senate and a new president otherwise “a lot of the structural change that I am certainly looking for won’t be possible…”
When asked what other forms of activism young people should do besides voting, Gillibrand replied that voting is one of the most important ways to be heard and to, “Make sure everyone they know and love has a plan to vote, make sure your family has a plan to vote. Get in arguments, if you have relatives that are supporting the president you might want to question them about why and provide your own view… it’s our country, it’s your future, it’s our democracy that’s at stake.”
Advice For Women In Politics:
In nearly every industry, as women, we often doubt our accomplishments or undermine our capabilities. Personally, I did not apply to many opportunities because I felt that I had my lack of experience or that I was simply not smart enough to thrive in the position, so I didn’t even apply. However, Senator Gillibrand’s advice to women is to “Believe in yourself.” She adds, “You are smart enough, tough enough, and capable enough for every job you want to do.”
When it comes to running for office, she believes that women don’t need to run for smaller positions in politics before they go after the position that they truly want. Instead, she advises to run based on issues that matter most to you and what changes you want to accomplish as a public servant. She stated, “Don’t say oh, I don’t have enough experience for that, oh, I might have to do something else first. The guys don’t do that, they just run for the thing they want, so run for the thing you want!”
She spoke about how many of the issues that are important to women such as Paid Family Leave do not gain as much coverage as other issues because political journalism is a male-dominated industry, which is confirmed by Pew Research Center. She also encouraged young many to get involved in this field to tell the stories that matter to them, since some of the best articles that she read has were written by women.
This advice was so inspiring to us! If you do not register to vote online, there is still time to vote on Election Day! Voting is easy and convenient using iwillvote.com, as it offers a one-stop-shop for all your voting needs. So, get out there and vote so you can have a voice in the change that you wish to see in the years to come!