Strong women have always been a constant in my life. I have had women as headmasters/ chancellors for 10 out of 12 years of my schooling. Given this fact, the Elect Her program made sense to me on a deep level.

I happily attended the “Raising Ms. President” Screening, but I was unsure when my friend asked me, “Are you going to the actual training?” I could have argued either side of this question. One the one hand: it is a day for women and I should stay out of it. On the other hand, I should go to show my personal support for this important issue. I decided to attend to make the point that while the issue is about women, it is a very important issue for men as well.

For me, attending was a very good experience for multiple reasons. First to support the amazing work of my friends who have worked so hard on this issue that they’re so passionate about, and even more importantly, to make the point that gender equality is a men’s issue as well.

Given this fact, the unequal access is a problem that programs like Elect Her can go a long way toward solving. What I believe the point of groups like this should be is to find the qualified women that are out there and encourage them to pursue careers in public service. Because if the women in my life are any sign, God knows they’re out there.

In the end the question is: why am I involved in this? Why do I care? I care because I love my university and my country. I want the very best people in leadership regardless of gender. I support Elect Her because somewhere, there could be a little girl with the chops to solve the world’s biggest problems from the gridlock in American politics to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or any problem that transcends gender. She could have those intrinsic skills developed and nurtured by leaders like Allie Curtis and those like her all over the U.S. and the world.

In the world today there are giant intractable problems that only the very best can solve, but for whatever reason half of the population is not getting into the position to solve these problems. These are our sisters and our friends. That is why this is a men’s issue too.

Phil Porter
Freshman
International Relations