“I can do it. Without confrontation, without adversarial nature…I am who I am. Whether I am a woman, whether I am a man… whatever it is that I bring to the table, is value added” Fraser City Council member Amy Baranski said.
Women have been affected by prejudice in the American government since its founding. They have been fighting that prejudice from then on, whether it be at the Seneca Falls Convention with the Declaration of Sentiments or on election days exercising their 19th Amendment rights.
Women have been continuously trying to pave their way through the American government. Just over a hundred years ago, women weren’t allowed to vote. Now, there are women running for president and breaking through the glass ceiling that was built so long ago. One of these women is Amy Baranski, a member of Fraser City Council.
Baranski has been interested in government since she was in high school learning about it herself. In addition to serving the city in her role on council, she works as an attorney.
“I am an attorney, and that, historically, was a male-dominated profession when I started. It has fortunately very much changed…but there still is, unfortunately, a prejudice that exists, in my opinion, that we have to overcome as women. We have to show that we are value added to the equation in terms of how to move forward in government,” she said.
Alexa Stanard, Elyssa Slotkin’s state director, is another woman paving her way through prejudice and breaking glass ceilings.
Both women acknowledge the benefit that the American democracy has on their jobs.
“The benefit of our country is that you can do whatever you want. There are barriers of course, I’m not naïve to the fact that there are barriers for certain groups of people or certain classes of people, but those barriers can be overcome, at least initially,” Baranski said.
“Democracy is what allows me to have my job,” Stanard said.
America has myriad opportunities for women in government. In this country, women have the ability to make a name for themselves and establish a position in government. However, there are still systemic beliefs that pose an extra challenge for women.
Stanard believes that women are “bathed in cultural messages…about what we’re expected to be…It can be exhausting,” she said.
There are certain expectations of women that have existed and expanded for hundreds of years. The idea that a woman has to grow up to get married and have kids is deeply rooted in societal ideals. Because of this idea, women have a harder time in the professional world. It can be difficult for a woman to perfect a mother/job balance, and with limited access to affordable daycare, the responsibility of parenting typically falls on the mother, creating a barrier into the working world. While there are so many opportunities for women in government, the social and cultural pressure on women makes it difficult to obtain these opportunities.
While the societal pressures have lessened over the years, they are still present. “Progress is not inevitable or linear,” Stanard said. “We are in a backward moving moment.”
Women have to work hard to make change, reverse the narrative, and start moving forward.
“I think that it’s important for women in general, young women, and all people to not rule out something just because of where they come from or who they are,” Baranski said. “It takes people willing to step up to get change. If people hadn’t run for office, if minorities hadn’t run for office, [if] people hadn’t put themselves out there, I wouldn’t be where I am today. If you want to do something, find allies, find resources, put yourself out there, volunteer, get in front of it, and see what you can do. You never know until you try. I didn’t know if I was gonna win city council…I had no idea if my message was going to be received…Nothing is guaranteed in life. Put yourself out there. Look for allies. We are out here,” she said.
Women are continuously trying to pave their paths, and while it may seem impossible or extremely difficult, there has to be a non-stop effort if women are expecting any change.
“It doesn’t come without challenges. But without challenges we don’t grow, and we don’t learn,” Baranski said.
