Of the half- million elective officials in the country, women reportedly hold less than 25 percent of those positions. This year the 113th Congress, which comprises 100 members, includes a total of 20 female senators—the most ever in U.S. history.
Ignite, an Oakland-based organization, is attempting to close the gender gap in politics by helping female political enthusiasts at various high schools and colleges all over the Bay Area.
The organization’s third annual Tomorrow’s Women Leaders of Today Conference, held on March 2 at Mission High School, invited dozens of students to meet with more than 20 local elected women and to participate in a variety of workshops that dealt with issues such as human trafficking and immigration reform.
“Politics is still an old, Caucasian boys club,” said 18-year-old Angela Yip, a student at Saint Ignatius College Preparatory Academy, who attended the event.
“I recognize how disproportionate it is for women and people of color as well to be represented in politics,” Yip said. “It’s nice to know that people care enough to educate and motivate us to run for office, which is not something we’re usually encouraged to do.”
The conference featured keynote speaker Sofia Campos, a 22-year-old undocumented immigrant and UCLA graduate, who became a vocal leader in the immigrant youth movement at 17 after discovering she and her entire Peruvian family were undocumented.
For many ambitious women, the chance to meet local leaders was a great networking opportunity. For Brenda Gonzalez, from San Lorenzo High School, it was a chance she rarely gets living in an unincorporated area lacking its own city officials.
“If we have something to say, I can’t go to the mayor or call an office because we don’t have one,” Gonzalez said. “I have to go to Alameda County and find out who represents our area.”
The need for resources and representation in her neighborhood sparked Gonzalez’s interest in politics, she said.
Anne Moses, the founder and president of Ignite, said that having women connect with political leaders they can identify with eliminates the notion that politics is only for the privileged.
“We have a huge gender disparity in political leadership in this country and it felt to me that the reason why was that no one was working with younger women in high school and college to address it,” Moses said.
Campos has organized campaigns for deferred action and the passage of the federal DREAM Act that would give conditional permanent residency to undocumented individuals and access to federal Pell Grants making higher education financially viable for thousands of immigrant students.
“When you see that you have so many limited options around you financially, but also not being able to drive or feel safe—all those things really take a toll on your sense of security, dignity and your empowerment,” Campos said.
Campos graduated from UCLA without access to federal financial aid and became board chair of the largest youth immigrant youth organization in the country: United We Dream.
During her address, Campos called on all women to form a sisterhood.
“The only way we can move forward is if we have support behind us,” she said.