Wisconsin’s dirty secret

Spotlight, Work — By

By now, Sandy Pasch was used to it.

She walked up another cement sidewalk. Rang another doorbell. Gave another smile and another handshake. And then she had to answer the questions she’s heard time and time again.

“Who will watch your kids?” they ask.

“Who will cook your family dinner?”

Wisconsin has a rich tradition of women and politics. In 1919, the state became the first to ratify the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. Vel Phillips became the first African-American woman in the U.S. elected to a statewide office when she won her campaign for secretary of state in 1979.  As recently as 2002, Gov. Jim Doyle was recognized for having the most gender diverse cabinet in the history of Wisconsin.

Pasch was an assistant professor at the Columbia College of Nursing

But now, Wisconsin has a secret ⎯ one that permeates county boards and the state legislature. A secret that clouds city councils and circuit courts; a secret that’s not easy to keep. And surprisingly enough, it’s available for all to see.

According to the Wisconsin Women’s Council, women currently hold 25 percent of elected offices in Wisconsin, the lowest number in more than two decades.

But Who Will Take Care of the Kids?

Seated at a table in one of her colleague’s offices, it has been two years since Democratic Rep. Pasch was on the campaign trail. However, the time spent knocking on doors and talking to strangers is fresh in her mind. And of course, she cannot forget the questions about her role as a mother, wife and politician. But she’s not the only one to face such questions.

Democratic Rep. Donna Seidel sits next to Pasch in her office, surrounded by campaign photos and pictures of her family.  Like old friends reminiscing about days gone by, the two state representatives recount the challenges they have faced when running for office in Wisconsin.

“The question is, ‘How will this impact your family?’ As primary caregivers, generally, that is a question that not only we ask ourselves, but the public asks that of us as well,” Seidel says. “They don’t ask men, ‘Well how many kids do you have? How old are they? How are you going to handle this?’”

Seidel was the Wisconsin Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired legislator of the year in 2007

It’s this double standard that is inherent in politics. But it’s not all political ⎯ Pasch says that in general, the public has different expectations of women.

“The reaction to a woman performing the same behavior as a man is, ‘Well, she is so nasty,’” Pasch says. “Some of that may be more tolerated with men.”

While Seidel believes women in elected office get unfairly asked about their children and family, it is a legitimate question facing anyone in the working world. The life of a politician is time-consuming, and it can be hard to find time for everything in life. But women have found ways to manage both a family life and a political life.

“I live this job and I love it. But, now that I am married and have two children it is a little more difficult,” says Republican Rep. Samantha Kerkman of Wisconsin’s 66th Assembly District. “I have to balance. Family first, and that is challenging.”

For Kerkman, that struggle meant occasionally meeting with her children’s teachers instead of attending community forums, or bringing her children to work when they were infants. Kerkman even planned her pregnancies around busy times in the Assembly. It’s a demanding balance, one that could not be possible without her family’s support.

“When I’m busy, my husband steps up. When he’s busy, I step up,” Kerkman says. “Both of our parents are very, very close to us and watch the kids.”

While Kerkman is now at a place of equilibrium between her work and personal life, she’ll never forget how difficult it was to win her public’s approval.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efEi_Nn4BRs[/youtube]

Overcoming Labels

At 36, Kerkman is one of the youngest Republicans in the Assembly. When she first ran for office in 2000, she was labeled as a prom queen in a local newspaper.

Not only was she never elected prom queen, she didn’t even attend.  Withstanding such trivial criticism is just another challenge women in politics must face.