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St. David’s Society banquet held

Letter to the Editor: Try these tactics to reduce blight in NEPA’s communities

While this could be the year voters elect the first woman as president of the United States, the general statistics on women in politics are barely changing. In fact, over a 10-year period women&#8217;s interest in running for public office has dropped. Yet, when women run for public office, they perform as well as men. Research tells us that voters perceive public officials who are women to be hardworking, better organized and more trustworthy.Why don&#8217;t more women run for public office? Political survey research identifies two key factors. First, women are less likely than men to view themselves as qualified. Even experienced and well-qualified women often question their abilities and credentials to be good candidates.Second, and more importantly, women are less likely than men to be encouraged to run for office. Such encouragement often doubles the likelihood of considering candidacy. Many women, unlike many men, do not run for public office unless somebody asks them.Why is it important to have more women in public office? Research again informs us that women are more collaborative as public officials and are more likely to try to reach consensus. These are important qualities for avoiding the stalemates that block good public policy.Now is prime time for recruiting women to run in local elections in 2017. While women often wait to be recruited rather than volunteering, they are seldom invited to run by local organizations and leaders with the resources to support them.The University of Scranton in collaboration with the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University is hosting Ready to Run training for women. The program provides encouragement and training opportunities for women who are thinking about running for public office.Organizers of the program will help women learn how to establish themselves as credible and viable candidates and navigate the electoral process.You can learn more about sessions scheduled for March 19 and May 21 at the University of Scranton by visiting this website &#8211; at <a href="http://www.scranton.edu/academics/ready-to-run/" target="_blank">scranton.edu/readytorun/</a> &#8211; or by contacting Linda Walsh by phone, 570-941-7520, or email, at linda.walsh@scranton.edu.We hope this encouragement will help women decide to run for public office. Let the first viable woman candidate for the president of the United States inspire you to consider running. If more women run, more women will win.Stephanie BresslerScranton

Letter to the Editor: Women, why not run for public office? Training available to show you how