Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del. (on screen) speaking at the recent Ultimate Women’s Power Lunch.

Power was on the menu for the 23rd Annual Ultimate Women’s Power Lunch in Chicago with national leaders encouraging the 1,200 attendees to use their power to act for change—particularly in the voting booth and the workplace.

“If I have one goal it is you leave here feeling optimistic about the margin of effort, not the margin of error,” Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky of Illinois said.

“Power was on the menu for the @RepSchakowsky 23rd Annual Ultimate Women’s Power Lunch in Chicago. #womenleaders”

More than 50 U.S. Congressional members from Illinois as well as Illinois Senate officials, local alderpersons, county officials, state legislators and representatives from Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa and Delaware, along with local elected officials attended the lunch and cheered Schakowsky on her efforts to secure rights for women.

Voters are paying attention at a time when one in three women in this country live in a state where reproductive rights are restricted, says Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom For All, and one of the special guest speakers.

“#Voters are paying attention at a time when one in three women in this country live in a state where #reproductiverights are restricted says @Mintimm, CEO of @Reproforall.”

“Real stories are the most persuasive,” to Americans when they vote, Timmaraju says, “as 8 in 10 Americans support reproductive rights.”

Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware is the fourth Black woman to be in U.S. Congress and was the first women of color elected to state representation in Delaware. Speaking to the crowd as a guest speaker, she says, “This is one of the most consequential times in our history.”

With the reversal of the Dobbs decision and other setbacks for gender parity, Rochester says, “This forces me to dig deeper and work harder. There may be feelings that you’re tired, fighting this battle again, but don’t be discouraged, think of bright hope.”

She adds, “That is a way of saying when things are dark, and when you feel politics might be broken, you know inside of you there is a flicker of hope.”

While there are more women in office nationally, the shift to more power has not reached major significance, according to a new study from Rutgers University.

“While there are more #womeninoffice nationally, the shift to more #power has not reached major significance, according to a new study from @RutgersU.”

“We know that keeping track of women’s political representation, specifically the numbers of women in elective office, is just one piece of a larger puzzle to understanding and addressing disparities in women’s political power,” Kelly Dittmar, associate professor of political science and director of research Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, told the National Press Foundation.

“I think that was really something we wanted to make clear: that just because you change who is in this space doesn’t mean the space itself and the gendered and racialized dynamics and biases of the place change,” Dittmar said at the NPF event.

According to a new Pew Research Center report on women leaders in U.S. politics, “53% of Americans say there are still too few women in high political office in the United States, and many see significant obstacles for women candidates.

“53% of Americans say there are still too few women in high political office in the US, according to a new @Pewresearch report. #womeninpolitics”

The report states, “Only one-in-four U.S. adults say it’s extremely or very likely that the United States will elect a woman president in their lifetime. About half (49%) say this is somewhat likely and 26% say it’s not too or not at all likely.”

A bright spot is the highest number ever for women governors. “To date, 49 women have served as governors in 32 states. In 2023, eight Democratic and four Republican women serve as governors.”

Also the highest in history is near parity of cabinet level positions. The current “Cabinet includes 12 women out of the 25 positions he has designated as Cabinet or Cabinet-level. That is the highest share of women in history, at 48%.”

“ A bright spot is the highest number ever for women governors. #genderequality #representation”

Later stepping to the stage was Sara Nelson, international president of Association of Flight Attendants, AFA-SWA, AFL-CIO, who quoted Mother Jones from 100 years ago who said, “No matter what the fight, don’t be ladylike.”

Eighty percent of those working in the airline industry are now union-organized, Nelson says. “In the middle of the pandemic, we got 10 hours of rest for workers.” That was a huge victory. “We can have power wherever we exist. You can demand dignity at work.”

Nelson says, “We are fighting legacy sexism that is the real driver of pay inequality.”

Oxfam recently came out with a report on Black women leaders and organizers in the workforce. The initiative called, A New Era for Black Women, spotlights the voices and priorities of workers. “We are working with Black women’s advocacy groups” to highlight what “low-wage workers face and come up with policies addressing racial, gender, social justice, and economic inequality,” Oxfam reports.

““We can have power wherever we exist. You can demand dignity at work.” — @FlyingWithSara. #unionstrong #powerTO”

While the percentage of women in labor unions is about 10% nationally, “a new analysis from the National Partnership for Women and Families (NPWF) shows that some of the biggest labor gains came from Black and Latina women,” NPR reports.

The report shows, “The share of Black and Latina women in unions went up slightly in 2023 — from 10.3% to 10.5% for Black women and from 8.5% to 8.8% for Latina women.”

“None of us can do this work if not all of us can do this work,” says Nelson. “We have the power to do it and the responsibility to do it. This matters to all of us.”

Leadership Takeaway of The Week:

“We can have power wherever we exist. You can demand dignity at work.”

Sara Nelson, International President of Association of Flight Attendants.

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About the Author

Michele Weldon is editorial director of Take The Lead, an award-winning author, journalist, emerita faculty in journalism at Northwestern University and a senior leader with The OpEd Project. @micheleweldon www.micheleweldon.com