Close Up: Highlighting women in history and Iowa politics
COMING UP ON KCCI EIGHT NEWS CLOSE UP HIGHLIGHTING THE WOMEN WHO HELPED SHAPE OUR COUNTRY BUT WERE LEFT OUT OF THE STORY. ONLY 15% OF WHAT WE ARE TAUGHT IN SCHOOL FOCUSES ON THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF WOMEN, AND THAT NEEDS TO CHANGE. A CLOSER LOOK AT WOMEN IN POLITICS AND THE GAPS THAT STILL REMAIN. HOW MUCH OF THAT STRUGGLE DO YOU SEE STILL PLAYING OUT IN TODAY’S POLITICAL CLIMATE? WOMEN ARE CRASHED THROUGH THE EDUCATIONAL GLASS CEILING. WHAT WOMEN HAVEN’T YET BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE IS EQUALITY IN POLITICS AND IN BUSINESS AND IN FINANCE AND IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS. PLUS WHAT IT ALL MEANS FOR WHO LEADS NEXT AND THE 2026 ELECTIONS. YOU’RE WATCHING KCCI EIGHT NEWS CLOSE UP. GOOD MORNING. THANKS FOR JOINING US FOR KCCI EIGHT NEWS CLOSE UP. I’M CHIEF POLITICAL REPORTER AMANDA ROOKER. TODAY WE’RE SPOTLIGHTING WOMEN DRIVING CHANGE. THE LEADERS WHO HAVE SHAPED OUR PAST AND THE WOMEN WHO ARE BREAKING BARRIERS ACROSS IOWA’S POLITICAL LANDSCAPE. THIS MORNING, I’M JOINED BY IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY’S KELLY WINFREE. SHE’S THE DIRECTOR OF THE WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIES PROGRAM AND AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT THE GREENLEE SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND COMMUNICATION. THANKS FOR BEING HERE. THANKS FOR HAVING ME. WELL, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT WOMEN IN POLITICS TODAY, WHERE HAVE WE SEEN THE MOST MEANINGFUL PROGRESS? I THINK THE MOST MEANINGFUL PROGRESS IS REALLY MORE WOMEN THAT ARE RUNNING FOR OFFICE AND BEING ELECTED. IT’S STILL FAR FROM EQUAL, BUT WE HAVE SEEN IMPROVEMENT. I THINK ONE OF THE BIGGEST AREAS, BOTH IN IOWA AND NATIONALLY, HAS BEEN MORE REPUBLICAN WOMEN RUNNING. SO FOR FOR A LOT OF 90S, EARLY 2000, WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT WOMEN CANDIDATES, THEY WERE LARGELY DEMOCRATS. AND THAT’S IN PART BECAUSE WOMEN ARE MORE LIKELY TO IDENTIFY AS DEMOCRAT VOTERS. SO YOUR CANDIDATE POOL IS DIFFERENT. BUT AS THE PARTIZANSHIP HAS INCREASED AND THINGS HAVE SHIFTED, WE’VE ALSO SEEN A LOT MORE REPUBLICAN WOMEN RUNNING AND GETTING ELECTED. AND I THINK THAT HELPS NOT JUST INCREASED NUMBERS, BUT BALANCED PERSPECTIVES AND MAKE GENDER A LITTLE A LITTLE LESS CENTRAL. WHEN YOU SEE WOMEN OF BOTH PARTIES OUT THERE RUNNING AND GETTING ELECTED, IT’S CERTAINLY SHOWS SOME PROGRESS. WHERE ARE AREAS WHERE THAT PROGRESS HAS STALLED OR BARRIERS THAT ARE STILL VISIBLE? SO WE STILL ARE NOT WHERE WE SHOULD BE. IF WE THINK ABOUT WOMEN BEING HALF THE POPULATION AND ACTUALLY MORE THAN HALF OF VOTERS ARE WOMEN. SO YOU WOULD THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE REFLECTED MORE IN THE NUMBER OF WOMEN RUNNING AND WINNING IN CONGRESS. WE’RE SITTING ABOUT 30% OR A LITTLE BELOW 30% OF WOMEN IN THE SENATE AND HOUSE. IN IOWA, WE’RE ABOUT THE SAME 29% WOMEN RIGHT NOW. I THINK THE BIGGEST THING YOU’VE SEEN IN IOWA CHANGE IS MORE REPUBLICAN WOMEN. WHENEVER I CAME TO IOWA IN 2014 AND WAS DOING ALL THE NUMBERS ALL OF THAT, AND THE 2014 ELECTION, THERE WERE VERY FEW REPUBLICAN WOMEN. THEY MADE UP A VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THE CANDIDATES. AND NOW WE’RE ABOUT 19, 20% OF THE REPUBLICANS IN THE STATE LEGISLATURE ARE WOMEN. AND THAT’S A BIG INCREASE FROM WHERE WE WERE TEN YEARS AGO. SOME VIEWERS MAY WONDER ABOUT THIS CONVERSATION. WHY IS IT SIGNIFICANT? YOU KNOW, TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, A MORE DIVERSE, YOU KNOW, LEADERSHIP, ESPECIALLY WHEN LOOKING AT WOMEN MAKING UP HALF THE POPULATION. WHY IS THIS AN IMPORTANT TOPIC TO BE TALKING ABOUT? WELL, I THINK I THINK IT’S ONE OF THE ONE OF THE BARRIERS THAT I SHOULD HAVE JUST SAID TOO, IS THAT THERE’S STILL A LOT OF GENDER STEREOTYPES AND DIFFERENCES IN WHAT MEN AND WOMEN DO ARE SOCIALIZED TO DO, AND WHAT THEIR LIFE EXPERIENCES ARE. SO HAVING WOMEN IN OFFICE, JUST LIKE HAVING ANY SORT OF GROUPS OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE, MAKE DECISIONS, MEAN YOU GET BETTER DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AND VOICES. FOR WOMEN IN PARTICULAR, YOU KNOW, WOMEN ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE THE ONES ORGANIZING CHILDCARE AND HEALTH CARE AND PURCHASING THE GROCERIES, GROCERIES. THEY’RE MORE LIKELY TO BE RECEIVING SNAP BENEFITS. AND SO A LOT OF THOSE POLICY ISSUES AFFECT MEN AND WOMEN DIFFERENTLY. AND SO HAVING WOMEN NOT JUST ABLE TO VOTE, BUT ALSO AT THE TABLE WHEN THEY’RE DISCUSSING THOSE POLICIES CAN MEAN THAT YOU GET, YOU KNOW, BETTER, MORE EFFECTIVE GOVERNING IN THE LONG RUN. WHAT DO BARRIERS LOOK LIKE JUST WOMEN MAY FACE WHEN RUNNING FOR OFFICE OR DECIDING WHETHER TO RUN FOR OFFICE? THE BIGGEST ONE IS THAT WOMEN ARE MUCH LESS LIKELY TO FIND THEMSELVES QUALIFIED TO RUN THAN MEN ARE. SO THERE’S BEEN DECADES OF RESEARCH WHERE, YOU KNOW, SURVEYS OF WOMEN THAT ARE IN FIELDS LIKELY TO LEAD TO OFFICE, LEGAL CAREERS, BUSINESS LEADERS, PLACES WHERE WE ALSO GET A LOT OF MALE CANDIDATES COMPARED TO SIMILAR CREDENTIALS, SIMILAR RESUMES, EXPERIENCES, MEN ARE MUCH MORE LIKELY TO FIND THEMSELVES QUALIFIED. SO THE FIRST BARRIER IS GETTING WOMEN TO SEE THEMSELVES AS QUALIFIED ENOUGH TO RUN. AND I THINK THE OTHER PIECE TO THAT, THAT MAKES IT A BARRIER IS THAT WHEN WE LOOK AT HIGH PROFILE ELECTIONS LIKE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS, WE SEE SOME BLATANT SEXISM AND HARASSMENT. AND THAT’S DETERRING, RIGHT? YOU DON’T WANT TO PUT YOURSELF IN THAT SITUATION SOMETIMES. AND THAT’S A RISK. THE HIGHER LEVEL OFFICE THAT YOU RUN. SO GETTING WOMEN TO RUN, ENCOURAGING WOMEN TO RUN. AND I THINK BOTH PARTIES AND THERE’S A LOT OF NON NONPARTIZAN ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE HELPED TRAIN WOMEN TO RUN. SO CAMPAIGNS ARE NOT THAT DIFFERENT BASED ON GENDER AT THIS POINT. THERE ARE SOME STRATEGIC DIFFERENCES, BUT THEY’RE NOT THAT DIFFERENT EXCEPT FOR GETTING WOMEN IN THERE AND HELPING THEM SEE WHAT TO DO TO BE SUCCESSFUL. I’D SAY KIND OF. THE OTHER CHALLENGE, THOUGH, IS THERE IS STILL SOME GENDER BIAS IN VOTERS. MEN AND WOMEN ARE STILL PERCEIVED DIFFERENTLY IN THEIR LEADERSHIP TRAITS AND ISSUES. THEY’RE GOOD AT. THAT CAN BE A BENEFIT OR DISADVANTAGE DEPENDING ON THE ISSUE AND THE ELECTION CYCLE, BUT IT CAN IT CAN BE A DETERRENT. AND IT CAN SOMETIMES MEAN THAT VOTERS AREN’T NECESSARILY LOOKING AT POLICIES OR WHEN THEY DON’T HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION, THEY FILL IN GAPS THAT CAN MAKE IT HARDER FOR WOMEN TO TO WIN. AND ALSO IN THE PROCESS OF RUNNING ADVERTISEMENTS AND DOING MEDIA INTERVIEWS, THE CONTENT MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. GOING BACK TO THE CONVERSATION ABOUT GETTING WOMEN ON THE BALLOT, HOW MUCH OF A ROLE DO YOU KNOW FUNDRAISING PARTY SUPPORT, RECRUITMENT? HOW MUCH OF A ROLE DOES THAT PLAY IN GETTING WOMEN CANDIDATES ON THE BALLOT? THAT’S THAT’S THE BIG THING. RECRUITMENT, ESPECIALLY PARTY RECRUITMENT, RECRUITMENT FROM OTHER WOMEN LEADERS. AS I SAID, MEN ARE MUCH MORE LIKELY TO FEEL QUALIFIED THAN WOMEN. RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT WHEN WOMEN ARE ENCOURAGED TO RUN AND USUALLY BETWEEN 3 TO 7 TIMES, DEPENDING ON WHAT STUDIES AND CONTEXTS, IT TAKES ABOUT 3 TO 7 TIMES FOR A WOMAN TO BE ASKED OR ENCOURAGED TO RUN BEFORE SHE’LL SAY YES. MEN DON’T HAVE THAT SAME BARRIER. SO RECRUITMENT IS REALLY IMPORTANT. PROVIDING THE SUPPORT FROM A PARTY’S PERSPECTIVE, GIVING RESOURCES. SO SOME OF THAT’S FUNDRAISING. IT’S ALSO JUST TRAINING AND, YOU KNOW, ACCESS TO VOTER DATABASES AND HAVING THOSE SORT OF CONNECTIONS THAT HELP WOMEN BE SUCCESSFUL WHEN THEY GET THERE. SO, YOU KNOW, IT’S, IT’S A LOT OF TIME AND ENERGY AND IT’S SCARY TO RUN FOR OFFICE. BUT IF YOU MAKE IT EASIER BY SAYING, BY GIVING THOSE SUPPORTS, THAT HELPS A LOT TOO. BUT YOU ALSO HAVE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE MORE MEN IN POLITICS AND PEOPLE TEND TO RECRUIT PEOPLE THEY KNOW IN THE SAME NETWORK. SO IT REQUIRES SOME STRATEGIC THINKING BY PARTIES TO GO FIND TOO. WE HAVE MORE TO GET TO, ESPECIALLY AS WE LOOK AHEAD TO THE 2026 MIDTERM ELECTIONS. OUR CONVERSATION WILL CONTINUE RIGHT AFTER THE BREAK. STAY WITH US. WELCOME BACK TO CLOSE UP RIGHT NOW IN IOWA, WOMEN HOLD LEADERSHIP ROLES AT EVERY LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT, FROM THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE TO CONGRESS. JOINING ME THIS MORNING IS KELLY WINFREE OF IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY’S WINTER WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIES PROGRAM, TO TALK ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES WOMEN STILL FACE TODAY. KELLY, YOU KNOW, WE’RE HEADING INTO THE 2026 MIDTERM ELECTIONS. THE GOVERNOR AND, YOU KNOW, OUR U.S. SENATE SEAT, BOTH HELD BY WOMEN RIGHT NOW WHO ARE NOT RUNNING FOR REELECTION, THOSE WILL BE UP, YOU KNOW, ON THE BALLOT AS WELL AS RACES, YOU KNOW, ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE STATE LEGISLATURE. WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT YOU’RE WELL, I THINK IN TERMS OF GENDER AND OUR GENDER DYNAMICS, IT’S REALLY TO SEE JUST HOW MANY WOMEN ARE RUNNING AND IF THERE ARE WOMEN STEPPING UP TO FILL THOSE ROLES AS WELL. OBVIOUSLY, FOR U.S. SENATE, WE HAVE ASHLEY HINSON VYING FOR THE REPUBLICAN NOMINATION. SO THAT COULD BE A WOMAN FOR WOMEN TRADE, RIGHT? WE’VE COME A LONG WAYS IN THE PAST TEN YEARS TO HAVE HALF OF OUR U.S. CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION BE WOMEN. IN 2013, WE HAD ZERO. SO THAT WAS A BIG CHANGE. SO ALWAYS MONITORING THE NUMBERS. I THINK IT’S ALSO IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT THE SPECIFIC RACES AND THE INTERSECTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTY AND GENDER. WE HAVE RACES LIKE IN THE FIRST DISTRICT WITH MARIANNETTE MILLER-MEEKS AND BOHANON WHO RUN AGAINST EACH OTHER. NOW A COUPLE TIMES. AND SO WATCHING HOW THEY TALK, YOU KNOW, ABOUT DIFFERENT ISSUES, BOTH AS WOMEN, SOMETIMES MEN AND WOMEN CANDIDATES MIGHT HAVE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT STRATEGIES, ESPECIALLY IF YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT ISSUES THAT AFFECT WOMEN DIFFERENTLY. RIGHT? CHILDCARE, EDUCATION THAT MIGHT BE MORE OR LESS RELEVANT. REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS. SO THERE CAN BE DIFFERENT DYNAMICS IN A MALE VERSUS FEMALE RACE THAN THAN TWO WOMEN. I THINK THE OTHER KIND OF BIG THING I’D BE LOOKING FOR IS THE ROLE OF GENDER IN THE ISSUES THAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT. SO OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS WAS A LARGE PART OF CONVERSATION TWO AND FOUR YEARS AGO. I WOULD EXPECT TO STILL SEE THAT BE AN ISSUE, NOT JUST A CONVERSATION IN IOWA, BUT NATIONALLY. I THINK THE OTHER BIG ISSUE THAT PEOPLE MIGHT NOT THINK OF AS GENDERED REALLY ARE ECONOMIC ISSUES. SO WOMEN ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE MINIMUM WAGE WORKERS OR SHIFT WORKERS, AND SO ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE IMPACTED BY INCREASES IN THE COST OF LIVING. SO GROCERY INCREASES THE THE AVAILABILITY OF SOCIAL SUPPORTS, AVAILABILITY AND COST OF CHILDCARE AND MEDICAL CARE CAN IMPACT WOMEN DIFFERENTLY, ESPECIALLY SINGLE WOMEN OR UNMARRIED WOMEN WITH CHILDREN. THAT THAT IT’S A DIFFERENT IMPACT. SO GIVEN WHERE THE ECONOMY IS AND, AND THAT THOSE CHALLENGES, WE’LL SEE WHERE WE ARE IN A FEW MONTHS, A LOT CAN CHANGE. I WOULD EXPECT TO SEE SOME TARGETED VOTING IN THAT DEMOGRAPHIC. AND I THINK THE LAST BIG THING THAT I WOULD SAY IS LOOKING AT THE METRO DES MOINES METRO AREA SPECIFICALLY, THERE ARE A LOT OF STATE LEGISLATIVE SEATS THAT HAVE FLIPPED BACK AND FORTH OVER THE YEARS. IN 2018, WE SAW A LOT OF DEMOCRATIC WOMEN RUN SUCCESSFULLY FOR LEGISLATIVE SEATS IN IOWA, PARTICULARLY IN THE DES MOINES AREA. WE ALSO THAT WAS WHEN WE SAW THE FIRST TWO WOMEN GO TO THE U.S. HOUSE WITH ABBY FINKENAUER AND CINDY AXNE. SO AS WE KIND OF RERUN A PRESIDENT TRUMP MIDTERM ELECTION, ESPECIALLY WHEN HIS POPULARITY IS NOT VERY GOOD, THERE’S SOME OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEMOCRATIC WOMEN TO KIND OF DO WHAT THEY DID IN 2018. THINGS WE WILL ALL BE WATCHING FOR AS WE LOOK TOWARDS THE 2026 ELECTIONS. KELLY, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. WE APPRECIATE IT. YEAH, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. WELL, COMING UP NEXT, MY INTERVIEW WITH NORAH O’DONNELL ON THE OVERLOOKED WOMEN WHO HAVE SHAPED OUR COUNTRY’S HISTORY. AND GUESS WHO IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF THOSE REVOLUTIONS? WOMEN. THEY WEREN’T A FOOTNOTE. THEY WERE LEADING THOSE REVOLUTIONS. I HAVE BEEN ON BOOK TOUR FOR FOUR WEEKS, AND THIS IS THE BIGGEST CROWD I HAVE HAD. A PACKED HOUSE IN AMES, IOWA. ABOUT 800 PEOPLE TURNING OUT TO HEAR AWARD WINNING CBS NEWS JOURNALIST NORAH O’DONNELL, THE LONGTIME CORRESPONDENT IS NOW TELLING A DIFFERENT KIND OF STORY IN HER NEW BESTSELLING BOOK, WE THE WOMEN. IT SHINES A LIGHT ON THE WOMEN WHO HELPED SHAPE THIS COUNTRY BUT ARE OFTEN LEFT OUT OF THE NARRATIVE. AS AMERICA APPROACHES ITS 250TH BIRTHDAY THIS YEAR, SHE SAYS IT’S TIME TO FILL IN THE GAPS IN OUR HISTORY. I SAT DOWN WITH O’DONNELL TO TALK WITH HER ABOUT WHAT CHANGES WHEN THOSE STORIES FINALLY GET TOLD. TIME TO CHAT. WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU AMANDA. I LEARNED SO MUCH FROM YOUR BOOK. I’M REALLY EXCITED TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT AND FOR OUR VIEWERS TO, TO READ IT. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT STOOD OUT TO ME IS YOU MENTIONED THE FACT THAT ONLY 15% OF WHAT’S TAUGHT IN U.S. HISTORY IN SCHOOLS FOCUSES ON WOMEN, AND YOUR BOOK WORKS TO BRING THOSE STORIES TO LIGHT. WHY DO YOU THINK IT’S SO IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE ROLE THAT WOMEN HAVE PLAYED IN SHAPING THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY? YOU KNOW, I LOVE HISTORY AND AMERICAN HISTORY, BUT WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL, I LEARNED A LOT OF DATES IN IMPORTANT PERIODS AND WARS THAT HAPPENED IN AMERICAN HISTORY. BUT I DIDN’T LEARN A LOT ABOUT WOMEN IN AMERICAN HISTORY. AND YOU’RE RIGHT, WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL WOMEN’S HISTORY MUSEUM IS THAT ONLY 15% OF WHAT WE ARE TAUGHT IN SCHOOL FOCUSES ON THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF WOMEN. AND THAT HAS TO CHANGE, BECAUSE THIS, I KNOW IS TRUE. WOMEN HAVE BEEN THE MOST POSITIVE FORCE FOR CHANGE IN THE WORLD, AND THEY ARE. AS HARRIET BEECHER STOWE SAYS, THE TRUE ARCHITECTS OF SOCIETY. AND SO IN WRITING THIS BOOK, IT’S BEEN SORT OF A REDISCOVERY FOR ME ABOUT HOW MANY WOMEN DID SO MANY GREAT THINGS IN AMERICAN HISTORY FROM THE FOUNDING OF OUR COUNTRY UP UNTIL TODAY. AND, YOU KNOW, ON JULY 4TH, ONE OF MY FAVORITE HOLIDAYS, REALLY, IT’S A CELEBRATION OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. AND THAT PHRASE, WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT, THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL. AND THAT SENTENCE IS AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT SENTENCES IN HUMAN HISTORY. IT NOT ONLY FOUNDED OUR COUNTRY, BUT ALSO THAT SENTENCE ABOUT EQUALITY AND FREEDOM ESSENTIALLY LIT THE SPARK OF EVERY GREAT REVOLUTION IN AMERICAN HISTORY. AND GUESS WHO WAS AT THE FOREFRONT OF THOSE REVOLUTIONS? WOMEN. THEY WEREN’T A FOOTNOTE. THEY WERE LEADING THOSE REVOLUTIONS. AND THAT’S NOT WHAT I WAS TAUGHT IN SCHOOL. AND I REALLY WONDER ABOUT MYSELF AND HOW MY OWN SENSE OF CONFIDENCE AND COURAGE AND CAPABILITY AND LEADERSHIP WOULD BE DIFFERENT IF I HAD LEARNED THAT SO MANY WOMEN WERE SUCH GREAT CHANGE MAKERS AND REVOLUTIONARIES IN AMERICAN HISTORY, THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO MAY, YOU KNOW, YOUNG WOMEN OUT THERE ARE THINKING ABOUT THEIR CAREERS, WHO MAY, YOU KNOW, READ THIS AND AND BE IMPACTED AND FEEL DIFFERENTLY THROUGHOUT THEIR LIFE. THAT’S THE POINT OF IT. LOOK, THE STORIES THAT WE TELL SHAPE OUR CULTURE, THE STORIES THAT WE ARE TAUGHT, SHAPE OUR CULTURE. AND THE STORIES THAT I WAS TAUGHT IN SCHOOL DID NOT FOCUS ON THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF WOMEN. PART OF THE REASON I BECAME A JOURNALIST WAS BECAUSE I SAW BARBARA WALTERS. I SAW OTHER WOMEN IN JOURNALISM BECAUSE MY PARENTS REVERED JOURNALISTS. THEY TAUGHT ME THAT KNOWLEDGE IS IMPORTANT. AND SO I SAW WOMEN IN JOURNALISM AND I THOUGHT, THAT’S A CAREER I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE. WOMEN CAN SUCCEED IN THAT FIELD. AND SO MY HOPE IS THAT GIRLS AND YOUNG WOMEN CAN READ THIS BOOK AND SAY, WOW, I CAN BE AN INTELLECTUAL. WHO IS THE SECRET MUSE OF THE BILL OF RIGHTS? I CAN BE A BUILDER. YOU KNOW, I CAN BE AN INNOVATOR. I CAN BE A DOCTOR, A SCIENTIST, ALL OF THOSE THINGS AND SEE THAT WOMEN HAVE BEEN DOING IT FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS WITHOUT ANY OF THE RIGHTS THAT WE HAVE TODAY. THEY PERSEVERED AND NEVER GAVE UP. COMING UP NEXT, NORAH O’DONNELL SHARES THE DEEPLY PERSONAL MOMENTS THAT SHAPED HER BOOK, WHY THESE STORIES STILL RESONATE TODAY, AND HOW THE FIGHT FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS CONTINUES TO ECHO ACROSS GENERATIONS. IT’S LIKE THEY’RE REACHING OUT FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE, SAYING THESE SAME PROBLEMS STILL EXIST. DON’T GIVE UP. OUR CONVERSATION WITH NORAH O’DONNELL CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THE BREAK. WELCOME BACK. IN THE SECOND HALF OF MY CONVERSATION WITH NORAH O’DONNELL, SHE REFLECTS ON THE WOMEN WHO CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY, THE MOMENTS THAT STUCK WITH HER WHILE SHE WROTE THIS BOOK, AND WHAT THEIR LEGACY CAN TEACH US NOW, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE WOMEN THAT YOU PROFILED WHO WERE FIGHTING TO BE HEARD, FIGHTING FOR RIGHTS, HOW MUCH OF THAT STRUGGLE DO YOU SEE STILL PLAYING OUT IN TODAY’S POLITICAL CLIMATE? WOMEN HAVE BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT. I THINK OF EVERY GREAT MORAL AND POLITICAL STRUGGLE IN AMERICAN HISTORY, AND THAT CONTINUES TODAY. YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE STORIES I TELL IS ABOUT THE FIRST BIG, MASSIVE PROTEST IN OUR NATION’S CAPITAL IN WASHINGTON, D.C. IT WAS MARCH 3RD, 1913. 8000 PROTESTERS, WOMEN PROTESTING AND SAYING, WE DESERVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE. ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL IN THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. WOMEN SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THAT. WOMEN LED THE FIRST BIG PROTEST IN AMERICA. WOMEN HAVE BEEN LEADING GREAT MOVEMENTS FOR CHANGE ALL THROUGHOUT HISTORY, AND I THINK IF WE LEARNED THAT AS YOUNG GIRLS AND BOYS, IT WOULD CHANGE THINGS. AND THE POINT IS THAT THROUGHOUT AMERICAN HISTORY, EVERYONE WE’VE BEEN FIGHTING THROUGHOUT OUR HISTORY FOR RIGHTS, FREEDOMS, EQUALITY, AND THAT CONTINUES TO THIS DAY IN AN EFFORT FOR A MORE PERFECT UNION. ONE OF THE OTHER MOMENTS THAT STRUCK ME PERSONALLY WHEN READING YOUR BOOK WAS THE PART WHERE YOU WERE MENTIONING THAT THE DECLARATION OF SENTIMENTS, A FOUNDATIONAL DOCUMENT IN THE WOMEN’S RIGHTS MOVEMENT, AND YOU MENTIONED IN YOUR BOOK THAT JUST TYPING IT OUT MOVED YOU TO TEARS. WHAT WAS IT ABOUT THOSE WORDS THAT MOVED YOU SO DEEPLY? YOU KNOW, I WENT TO A GREAT BIG PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, AND GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY AND HAD A GREAT EDUCATION. AND CERTAINLY I KNEW ABOUT THE GREAT AMERICAN SUFFRAGIST WOMEN. I KNEW ABOUT SENECA FALLS AND THE FIRST WOMEN’S RIGHTS CONVENTION. I KIND OF HEARD OF THE DECLARATION OF SENTIMENTS, OF COURSE, WHICH WAS THE MANIFESTO, IF YOU WILL. BUT I ADMIT THAT I’D NEVER READ IT. AND SO IT’S PRINTED IN FULL IN THIS BOOK FOR A REASON, BECAUSE WHAT THE SUFFRAGISTS DID WAS TAKE THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, WHICH WAS A DOCUMENT ABOUT SEEKING FREEDOM FROM KING GEORGE THE THIRD, AND THEY SAID, LET’S CREATE A DECLARATION OF SENTENCE WHERE WE TALK ABOUT MEN’S TYRANNY OVER WOMEN AND SEEKING FREEDOM FROM THAT. AND SO, OF COURSE, THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT THE RIGHT TO VOTE AND LOTS OF OTHER THINGS. BUT IT WAS THE LAST POINT IN THE DECLARATION OF SENTIMENTS THAT MADE ME CRY. AND IT WAS THAT HE TRIED TO DESTROY HER CONFIDENCE IN HER. AND THE REASON THAT THAT MADE ME CRY IS BECAUSE SOMETHING THAT WAS WRITTEN IN THE 1850S IS SOMETHING THAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME IN THE 2000, YOU KNOW, TEN AND 2015 AND 2020 IS MEN TRYING TO DESTROY MY CONFIDENCE IN MY OWN SENSE OF SELF AND POWER. AND I TELL THE STORY IN THE BOOK THAT WHEN I JOINED CBS NEWS, I WAS GOING TO BE THE CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT AND A MAN AT CBS NEWS SAID TO ME, WELL, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO COVER THE WHITE HOUSE WITH THREE YOUNG CHILDREN AT HOME? AND IF I HAD LET THAT MAN DESTROY MY CONFIDENCE IN MY POWERS, I WOULD HAVE NEVER SAT IN THE SAME CHAIR AS WALTER CRONKITE. AND SO THE FACT THAT WOMEN WERE TALKING ABOUT THE SAME STRUGGLES BEFORE THEY HAD THE RIGHT TO VOTE, IT’S LIKE THEY’RE REACHING OUT FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE SAYING THESE SAME PROBLEMS STILL EXIST. DON’T GIVE UP GIVING US A ROADMAP, MAYBE FOR FOR HOW TO FACE THOSE MOMENTS OF ADVERSITY. YEAH. AND ACKNOWLEDGING IT LIKE I’M A BIG BELIEVER IN. AND IF YOU ACKNOWLEDGE SOMETHING OR IF YOU EXPOSE SOMETHING, THAT’S WHAT WE DO AS JOURNALISTS. THAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN TERMS OF BRINGING ABOUT LIGHT TO A SUBJECT. IF YOU THINK THESE WOMEN THAT YOU PROFILE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THEM WERE ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE FOUNDING OF OUR COUNTRY, SOME OF THEM MORE RECENT. IF THEY WERE ABLE TO SEE, YOU KNOW, SOCIETY TODAY, WHAT DO YOU THINK WOULD SURPRISE THEM? DO YOU THINK THERE’S ANYTHING THAT THEY WOULD BE FRUSTRATED BY OR PROUD OF? I THINK WOMEN FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE FOUNDING OF OUR COUNTRY WOULD LOOK THROUGH THE PAST 250 YEARS AND BE EXTREMELY PROUD THAT WOMEN NEVER GAVE UP THE FIGHT FOR EQUALITY AND FREEDOM, AND TO PUSH THIS COUNTRY TO LIVE UP TO THE IDEALS THAT ARE NOT ONLY IN THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, BUT IN THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION. AND THAT’S WHY THE BOOK IS CALLED WE THE WOMEN. OUR CONSTITUTION STARTS, WE THE PEOPLE. AND I DON’T THINK WE SHOULD IGNORE WOMEN ANYMORE, BUT IN TERMS OF WHAT THEY WOULD SAY, LOOKING, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT WHERE WE ARE TODAY, I THINK THEY WOULD BE INCREDIBLY PROUD AND HOPEFUL. WOMEN ARE CRASHED THROUGH THE EDUCATIONAL GLASS CEILING. WOMEN ARE ABOUT TO EXPERIENCE AND BENEFIT FROM THE GREATEST WEALTH TRANSFER IN AMERICAN HISTORY. WHAT WOMEN HAVEN’T YET BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE IS EQUALITY IN POLITICS AND IN BUSINESS AND IN FINANCE AND IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS. AND MY HOPE FOR THE NEXT 50 YEARS IS THAT THAT WILL HAPPEN. HER BOOK, WE THE WOMEN, IS AVAILABLE NOW IN STORES AND ONLINE. THANKS FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING. HAVE A GREAT DAY.
Close Up: Highlighting women in history and Iowa politics
On this week’s Close Up, the female pioneers who helped shape our nation’s history, broke political barriers here in Iowa, and continue transforming the political landscape today.ISU Women’s and Gender Studies Program Director, Kelly Winfrey, discusses the political opportunities and challenges in women still face. Award-winning CBS News journalist Norah O’Donnell shares the hidden heroes who helped shape America, and her personal moments and struggles in her new best-selling book, “We the Women.”Watch the full episode in the video player above. » Subscribe to KCCI’s YouTube page» Download the free KCCI app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play
On this week’s Close Up, the female pioneers who helped shape our nation’s history, broke political barriers here in Iowa, and continue transforming the political landscape today.
ISU Women’s and Gender Studies Program Director, Kelly Winfrey, discusses the political opportunities and challenges in women still face.
Award-winning CBS News journalist Norah O’Donnell shares the hidden heroes who helped shape America, and her personal moments and struggles in her new best-selling book, “We the Women.”
Watch the full episode in the video player above.
» Subscribe to KCCI’s YouTube page
» Download the free KCCI app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play