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"We basically serve as a training ground for women who are interested in things political," Wilson says. Members get involved in a variety of projects — from distributing information on voting to running leadership training workshops for activists from other countries. They get to know their elected officials through these activities, Wilson says, and learn how the public's business is performed. "They (league members) gain a lot of insight, and they really sharpen their interest in the subject," she says. "Many of them, as a result, say, "I could do that, too. I could make an impact as an elected official.'" The league doesn't keep statistics on how many of its members go on to run for public office, but Wilson notes that Senator Dianne Feinstein of California has acknowledged publicly that she first got interested in politics through the league. The league was founded in 1920, a direct descendant of the suffragist groups that -- after a 70-year battle -- won American women the right to vote that same year. Its organizers saw in the league a way to educate women about their newly acquired political rights. As an organization dedicated to encouraging women's political engagement, the league remains a strictly nonpartisan organization. Its basic purpose is "to make democracy work for all citizens" via voter education and to influence policy through advocacy. The strength of the league, Wilson says, has always been its "grassroots," decentralized structure. There are some 900 league chapters located across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and even Hong Kong. The League of Women Voters of the United States, led by Wilson, and the League of Women Voters Education Fund (a related group that provides research, publications, and forums on public policy issues) operate at the national level with support from local leagues. To keep its civic education relevant into the 21st century, the league is making better use of the Internet, Wilson says. For example, its local and state voter guides are being made available on the Internet. "A year ago," Wilson notes, "right before the November 2006 election, we launched Vote411. org, which is a kind of full-service Web site where people from all across the country can find out basic things about where they can go to vote in their home locations. "We're hoping to get some additional foundation funding to bring it to even more people for the November 2008 presidential election," she says. At the national level, Vote411.org will pose questions to the presidential candidates both during the primary season as well as during the general election, Wilson says. Their answers will be posted for the entire country to see. Although the league has some paid staff, it relies mostly on volunteers – a resource that is becoming scarcer now that more women have entered the work force and have more opportunities to volunteer in a variety of organizations than ever before. "But I'm happy to say," Wilson says, "that the League of Women Voters in the last year or so has been holding its own in terms of membership, and we have been undertaking a very special membership recruitment initiative … and that is the league's role as an important training ground for people who want to participate in the civic lives of their communities and state and the nation." Recruiting from a broader age, racial, and ethnic demographic, the league is soliciting members among energetic retirees, students, and — yes — even men, a tradition that goes back to its suffragist roots. "We are striving through our membership recruitment initiative to indeed attract a broader base of members and thereby continue to be as relevant as we have been for the last 87 years," Wilson says. Next>>> Jean Sinzdak | |
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