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SALT LAKE CITY — When it comes to politics, women need to have their voices heard.
"You will make a difference and you should make a difference, this is your world," said former state legislator Jackie Biskupski during the women’s public leadership training held at Salt Lake Community College Saturday.
The training was part of the initiative "Real Women Run – Find your Voice." It is intended empower women to participate fully in public life and leadership through elected political office at all levels, political appointments, working on campaigns, or simply learning more about our political system.
"Our goal is to inspire women to really consider getting more involved, to becoming policymakers, to become people who understand that it’s not just the home budget they should be concerned about, it’s their state budget or their city budget," said Biskupski.
Slightly more than 17 percent of Utah lawmakers are female, compared to the national average of 23.6 percent.
"Women are 50 percent or maybe a little more than that of the population," former Salt Lake Mayor Deedee Corradini said, “and we need our voices heard," because the more diverse voices that you have working in an issue, the better outcome you will get, she said.
Corradini was one of several keynote speakers during the training conference. She said the turnout was great. They expected about 40 women to show up and got nearly 300.
"It tells me that we have women who really want to do something, that they want to run, but they don’t know how," she said.
Real Women Run is a collaborative nonpartisan effort. In addition to the YWCA and The Hinckley Institute, the partnership includes Salt Lake Community College, Vision 2020, representatives from all political parties in Utah, League of Women Voters, AAUW, current and former elected female officials, Westminster College, and other community organizations that support women.
