Will President Obama Invite Women into His Administration?

The lights of Washington, DC looked different to me last night as I flew into the capital to give a talk on my book, Pearls, Politics and Power: How Women Can Win and Lead.

The election of Barack Obama has cast a new aura over the city. And this morning, it seemed as if everyone was smiling. I was carrying a bag with Obama's visage printed on it. "I love your bag," several people said, their eyes lighting up as they recognized his face.

The glow has not yet faded, but speculation about his appointees has already hit high gear, especially in Washington. With the announcement of Rahm Emanuel as chief of staff, the faces and names of other potential appointees have begun to surface.

It is all speculation at this point, but what concerns me is that not many names of women for high posts have been mentioned. Obama's inner circle of the two "David's", Axelrod and Plouffe, are clearly talented, but they are the same kind of white guys that have been at the side of Presidents past.

Bill Clinton stirred some controversy when he went on a prolonged search for a female Attorney General, but he found one in Janet Reno. He also appointed women to other high visibility positions where they had not been before. To appoint a significant number of women and minorities, it will be necessary for the President -elect to do some serious outreach beyond his inner circle. Talented, capable women are out there, but they have to be identified and invited. They are not automatically part of the good old boy network -- whether that network is white or black.

Women's resumes still tend to be somewhat different from men's because many women have had interrupted lives to take time out for their families. When I was elected Governor of Vermont, and interviewed women for top positions, I realized that these blank spaces in women's resumes were not really blank at all because I had them in my resume too. These were the years of raising children, doing volunteer work, and part-time work -- all valuable experience for public service.

As the speculation continues about who will serve in the Obama administration, I strongly hope that there will be no short list for any post without a substantial number of women on it.

I also urge women to promote themselves for these positions. Having served on the Bill Clinton transition team, I can tell you the process is highly competitive. Do not underestimate your abilities and do not wait to be asked. Put your name, your resume, and your desire to serve on the President-elect's desk. And if you have political connections, use them. That is what the guys do.

This was originally posted at Chelsea Green.

Madeleine M. Kunin is the former Governor of Vermont and was the state's first woman governor. She served as Ambassador to Switzerland for President Clinton, and was on the three-person panel that chose Al Gore to be Clinton's VP. She is the author of Pearls, Politics, and Power: How Women Can Win and Lead from Chelsea Green Publishing.

Comments

[honeydiva]

i just want to know the AG will be.

[Ugonna]

I will just say that Obama has alot of women who supported him in the primaries through the general election, and I'm sure he intends to use them in some way in his cabinet. He's very pro-woman, and anyone who still doubts that still doesn't know much about him after all this time. And I'm sure blacks will have a place too.

[MamaJoe]

I don't care who he picks as long as they are qualified and committed to the ideals that Barrack has for the country and the world.

[SEQUOIABISON]

I am certain that our patience will be rewarded, have faith that our new leader will have a diverse cabinet that reflects the demographic makeup of America, of this there is no doubt.

[Jeep]

Thank you for putting it out there in such bald terms, Ms Kuhn. Margaret Thatcher said it best: "If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman."
Being a housewife and mother of babies/small children was the hardest job I've ever had, and it was a shock to discover, when I 'joined the boys' that women who've been housewives and mothers are typically better at any given job than their male counterparts. Don't know why -- maybe all that multi-tasking? Keep up the good work!

[violimo]

If its wrinkly white men that will get you out of your country's current emergencies, then so be it. I don't think Obama is wasting any time playing toss up here.

[egal]

Please hope htat there are plenty of women at the top of lists because they deserve to be, not because they're women. Plenty are overlooked because of their gender, but it would be every bit as disastrous to equality to appoint unqualified women, like Palin but likely nowhere near her level of incompetence, just because they're women.

[foxbat]

Obama's going to choose the most qualified people for these positions. May be women, may be Republicans, may be ...

What will differ from the way that it's been done in the past, and what will increase the probability that there will be a diverse mix of people in an Obama admin is that the POOL of candidates will be so much more diverse than it's been in the past.

Previously, admin appointments were based HEAVILY on cronyism and "payments" for loyalty. That's what led to folks like Brown in charge of FEMA and Gonzales as AG. I don't think Obama's going to make that mistake. He seems to be one who surrounds himself with performers who happen to be loyal instead of loyalists who happen to perform. Performance, above all, should be his mantra.

With that said there are MANY women who are performers that will be under consideration for admin jobs like Sebelius, Kennedy, Napolitano, Clinton, Pelosi, Wasserman-Schultz, Collins, Snowe, McCaskill, Feinstein, Klobuchar, Granholm, Tyson, and many more. One thing for us to remember is that, several of these people may not want to be in the admin because they may better serve the admin by remaining in current roles or moving to other areas. For example, a recent poll showed that Napolitano would probably beat McCain if she were to run against him for AZ Senator in 2010, so she might better serve an Obama admin by adding another Dem Senate seat.

[mzwednesday]

After Sarah Palin I am weary of this question.
Condi was a woman and how much did she do for the cause of women?
NOTHING that's what !
Most of the women who are allowed into the inner circle are only allowed in becasue they are obedient to men. It would be nice to see a woman in power who was actually on the side of women.
Not just interested in their own POWER. That'd be revolutionary. The rest is merely TOKEN.
And doesn't impress me.

[ESerafina42]

I don't think you get the point of this post? It's not how much women appointees can do "for the cause of women" and never has been, but whether Obama's choice of people for his administration will be from the broadest range of capable, qualified people out there. Condi has been neither capable nor qualified for either of the positions she's held - the only reason she's there is because she worships at the shrine of her husb- oops - the "President."

[adl]

I've seen some women mentioned, but what I'd like to see him do is pick the best person/people for the job regardless of gender, race, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, even party.

[greyseal in tampa]

This may make me a traitor to my own gender, but I want Obama to appoint THE VERY BEST people for his cabinet with no regard for their gender, race, affiliation.

But.....all else being equal....DO mix it up, OK?

[boing007]

Jennifer Granholm, Janet Napolitano, Kathryn Sebilius -all governors

should stay just where they are. Obama will need their help to spread his agenda across the country.
All Senators as well should stay where they are.

[surfcitysteven]

Yeah, we need Arizona to keep a dem governor, it is not a given there that the next one will be. She will win McCains seat when it gets to that. We need to keep our foot on the neck of the republicans for awhile and we need to choose wisely, what elected officials to move around. Arizona is very conservative and we are fortunate that they have a dem governor.

[lilpeg]

I agree with you on that. Good governors are hard to find. With the way the economy is, we will need them. Women in the Senate and the House should probably stay put as well. I'm sure there are plenty of other women who are perhaps lower in profile but, as, if not better, qualified.

[klondiker]

I can't believe how many people mis-read this post or failed to understand it.

I don't think the Governor is suggesting that President Obama should hire women even if they are not qualified and just because they happen to be women.

Instead, there are two key points:

1. There are equally qualified women out there, but they are harder to find because they are not part of the old boy network.

2. Qualified women may not have the same resume as equally-qualfied men because of different life experiences - but that does not make them less qualified. Therefore, administration needs to be open-minded and consider the notion of "experience" and "service" as applied to different contexts.

And, it behooves President Obama to take chances and search harder for these equally-qualified women AND consider different life experiences because part of the reason why he's in the White House is because we took a chance on HIM when he didn't have conventional experience for a presidential candidate. And, look how well that turned out! We now have a uniquely-qualified president who brings with him really diverse experiences that will serve him well in the White House.

I'm just asking him to think of his appointments in the same way that we thought of his.

[veteran1964]

Instead of the sexist recommendations and the whinning of how many women, asians, hispanic, black, white and pink people should be in his cabinet....HOW ABOUT JUST THE BEST ONES SHOULD BE THERE....Obama has had the most diverse amount of advisors, the most diverse election, the most diverse voters of anyone in history and you are complaining about whether or not he is going to bring women into his cabinet? My God.........................................How about worrying about WHOM is the best to get this country fixed and quit worrying about this sexist chit. If a woman qualifies for the best, hire her. If a monkey qualifies, hire it. If a MUSLIM qualifies, hire him/her...............................................We want the best................That's it.

[klondiker]

OMG...are you reading-impaired??

Nobody is saying that we shouldn't hire the best. The point is this: some of the "best" are harder to find because of non-traditional experiences and because of not having access to traditional routes to power and accomplishment. More often than not, these people turn out to be women.

Therefore, when choosing the best, Obama should take into account these non-traditional experiences and alternative arenas of accomplishment. That's it.

[nomobull]

not misreading just don't want no palins or geraldine ferraros just the best despite sex ,race or religion.and if she had some
t hat met the criteria where is her list.

[klondiker]

Clearly, you are misreading, or you would not have brought up Palin. I don't see anything in my comment or in Governor Kunin's post that justifies someone like Sarah Palin being picked. Please read the comment and the post again, and if you still don't understand, let me know.

[canucklivinginUSA]

I don't want no f'ing token appointees!!! Is that clear? I want smart and brilliance not douchebags who will be total yes man/woman. If he has to pick a black person, a woman or an hispanic, that person needs to be on his level. And btw, I am sooo sick and tired of all this speculation, can we let this man make his own f'ing mind?!!!!

[ChewyToy22]

Let's just substitute 'women' with 'blacks' and we end up where we started. How about just asking him if he'll invite 'qualified' persons into his administration?

Well, will he invite Jews, or Muslims, or vegetarians, or gays?

[chumleypotts]

It seems the physically disabled should receive special consideration as well. This group has historically been maligned as lesser people due to their afflictions, and deemed less intelligent than fully functioning people. Private industry has given them far more opportunities than has our government, and found their attitudes and work ethics exceed what passes for today's norm.