The value of voting on November 8th cannot be overemphasized because so many vital issues are at stake for women of all ages, racial, ethnic, and educational backgrounds. American Association of University Women (AAUW) is at the forefront in encouraging all women to recognize the importance of their votes.
Politicians and policy makers at all levels of government routinely make decisions about issues that directly affect us and our families – but more often than not, the conversation lacks women’s voices.
Unmarried women, people of color, and millennials—collectively known as the “rising American electorate” —make up the majority of voting eligible citizens in the United States. This same group was under registered and underrepresented in 2014.
Candidates can’t win without the votes of women, so let’s hold them accountable and ask them the tough questions about pay equity, work-life balance policies, campus sexual assault, higher education and other issues impacting women. If candidates want our votes, they need to speak to our issues.
As a member of the Missouri branch of the American Association of University Women, we have worked tirelessly to advocate on issues impacting women and girls. We, along with every member of AAUW of Missouri, plan to make our voices heard on November 8 and beyond.
Karen Francis, AAUW MO Public Policy Co-Chair
Dr. A. Patricia Shores, AAUW MO Public Policy Co-Chair
Article submitted by WCD members and originally published in the St. Louis Post Dispatch Letters to the Editor, October 2016.