If you're a woman.
She wants us women to get in the political game -- which is why she created her new organization, Off the Sidelines.
According to the New York Times:
Ms. Gillibrand said that part of what was driving her was a little-noticed outcome of the 2010 elections: the number of women in Congress actually declined -- by a small fraction -- for the first time in 30 years.
Women in elective politics face hurdles outside Congress. Currently, women hold 22.1 percent of available statewide executive positions, down from 27.6 percent 10 years ago, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.
I used to manage Information Technology departments for Wall Street investment banks. Then, I bought a bridal salon in Florida (which I have since sold -- a whole other story). When people asked me about it, I would often say that I went "from all testosterone to all estrogen."
Well, too much of anything is not good, and I am a believer in moderation in all things.
That is why Kirsten Gillibrand is right to want more women in Congress.
Our organization, Women Ecommerce Execs, recently hosted a lunch at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition in San Diego. We asked women (all of whom hold senior positions in ecommerce businesses) to complete a short survey.
One question we asked was: Do you feel that women bring different and valuable skills to the work environment? Notice that the question wasn't "better" skills but rather "different and valuable."
All but one answered "Yes."
When we asked them to identify those "different and valuable" skills, these were frequently listed: listening, patience, communication, negotiation, tactfulness, compassion, team oriented, collaboration, relationships, creative problem-solving, compromise, results-oriented, not that concerned with credit (these last two were also cited by Senator Gillibrand).
And, listed over and over again: empathy and collaboration.
Couldn't we use more of these traits in Congress now? A little more empathy with what Americans are going through and a little more collaboration to solve the needs of our country would go a long way. A focus on teamwork, shared credit, and results that work for all Americans is desperately needed right now.
I'm curious as to what, if we asked men to describe the skills that they bring to the table that are "different and valuable," that list would look like. But it seems unlikely that "empathy" and "collaboration" would be their top two.
So, if I'm a fan of balance and diversity, why have a "Women" Ecommerce Execs group? How does that mesh with that belief? Well, there are several statistics that can explain that. For example, Bloomberg Businessweek recently reported that the number of women on S&P 500 corporate boards has dropped to 16 percent.
Yet, women are over 50% of the US population, according to the 2000 census.
And, apparently, while there was a lot of discussion and reporting about how the recession has been harder on men as opposed to women, with respect to job loss, recent reporting is saying something different. The Pew Research Center has published an interesting report on that topic.
Given the numbers, it seems clear that women have a ways to go. And, to get there, we need to "team up" -- to network, to support each other, to work toward our common goals, and to figure out how to move that ball down the field. Down what we hope to make, someday, a "level" playing field.