Rebecca Sive Writes Woman’s Guide to Achieving Political Office
The author draws on her experience working for Geraldine Ferraro, Hillary Clinton and Barbara Mikulski.
By Sue Tomchin
Winter 2013
Considering the prominence of women in government—Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Jan Schakowsky and Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Senators Barbara Mikulski, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, among others—we might be lulled into thinking that women hold government positions at equal or close to equal percentages as men. But the reality is far from that: Women hold fewer than 20 percent of the seats in Congress, and only five of 50 states have women governors.
But more and more women are stepping up to run for office, and Rebecca Sive hopes to facilitate this process. A public affairs strategist, writer and consultant who worked for Geraldine Ferraro, Hillary Clinton and Barbara Mikulski, Sive has written (Chicago Review Press, $17.95). Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, granddaughter of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, provides the foreword to this inspiring and practical book.
Sive compiles stories from women—both high profile as well as lesser known—who have run and won. She draws on their experiences and her own to offer concrete tips, wisdom and frank suggestions about how women who aspire to public office can conquer fears, learn to fundraise, build their personal brand, line up big-name supporters, negotiate from a position of strength, use the media to their advantage and win the support of men.
One of the women Sive interviewed is Ilana D. Rovner, who in 1992 became the first woman appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Sive writes that Rovner won the support of male colleagues by dint of hard work, kindness and making herself indispensible. “The only girl child in her extended family to survive the Holocaust … she says that she always felt she had to do something important with her life,” Sive relates. Rovner thus devotes herself to “kind leadership in manner and in deed.” A few years after completing her law degree, she joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago and worked her “heart out,” even on unpopular cases. When a federal district court judgeship opened up, her boss and others supported her campaign for it, and a few years later “the boys in charge lobbied for her again when she asked for the U.S. Court of Appeals appointment.” Sive’s real-world examples, good sense and passion for her topic make Every Day Is Election Day extremely readable and valuable, whether you are an aspiring politician or interested in advocating for women’s advancement and equal rights. She includes a rich resource section. Learn more about Sive and her book at .