California Calls on Women with a Need to Lead
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Appointments Secretary John Cruz is the keynote speaker at the California Woman’s Leadership Associations “kick off” for the newly created “4 Corners” chapter
by Amanda Bartley

As women have been underrepresented in leadership roles throughout the course of history, the California Women’s Leadership Association has made it their duty and goal “to bring together influential women to effect positive change in our community and government” and to “identify” and “assist” women through providing opportunities to be in positions of power, thereby enabling women to become involved in “significant decision making.”

The “kick-off” for the Four Corners chapter of the CWLA, held at the Double Tree Hotel in Ontario, brought to surface the shocking reality of how underrepresented women are, not only within the political scene but also within business and employment.

Gayle Pacheco, President of the Four Corners chapter, introduced Julie Vandermost, the Statewide President of the CWLA, who emphasized the imperativeness of placing more women in political and leadership positions: “We need to see more women role models.”

In the state assembly, a mere six positions are held by women, and four of those women will soon be termed-out. More shocking, however, is realizing that there are no positions that are held by women within the state senate. This is disturbing.
Equally disturbing is realizing that it is not only within the political spectrum that women lack influence. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 36.5 million residents in California, and, while half of those residents are women, a mere 29.9% percent of privately owned firms are headed by women.  

Due to this appalling information, Vandermost argued that women who are running for office must be “300 percent more prepared than their male counterpart.” Right now, according to the CWLA, however, there are at least five women who are qualified to apply for crucial offices. Nevertheless, the CWLA doesn’t oppose supporting men who are applying for office; within the CWLA alone, thirty percent of the members are male.

The highlight of the evening was guest speaker and Appointments Secretary to Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Cruz, who shed some light on making a model of employment in California. He said that California has a “growing economy” and we must “feed the expanding needs of the public.” Cruz and Vandermost both emphasized the idea that the government is meant to act as “a facilitator rather than a regulator,” and that the components—or officials—within the state government have a “tremendous amount of influence.” John Cruz proposed that the state needs women in office “who will reflect the diversity of the state.” But how can these women be found, and how can they be established in an influential position?

Cruz likened the search of finding the right women for office to looking at a goldfish bowl—How can deputy officials know which person is better qualified? How can they tell who is best suited to represent the state of California? Cruz unveiled the staggering number of current applicants: there are around 10,000 applicants seeking various positions. To rank them, interview them and check their qualifications, he said, would be nearly impossible. So, Cruz states the “trick is to raise the profile of your application.” The key, here, Cruz disclosed, is to find stakeholders—people who will vouch for one’s character, goals, and motives. Stakeholders might be, for example, legislators, members of chambers of commerce, and members of various high profile associations.

Cruz clarified that the applicants should be technically proficient, should show a capacity to understand what the issues are, should be somewhat politically savvy, and should be a person who can offer up constructive criticism without being a dictator. Such an applicant would “impact the business of this state for a long time to come,” Cruz said.

In closing, Gayle Pacheco asserted that women “want to make a difference,” and we need to “make sure we (as women) have an opportunity to affect policy in California.” Women have come a long way since the vote; now, it’s time to promulgate business and the general health of the state through networking and situating more women in major political offices and leadership positions.

For more information, see these related links:

http://www.womensleadershipexchange.com/
http://national.unitedway.org/about/wlc.cfm
http://www.womeninleadership.com/mc/page.do?sitePageId=42927&orgId=wl
http://www.bizjournals.com/bizwomen/
http://www.bpwusa.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3267