♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Sierra Artemus> Good evening, and welcome to Palmetto Perspectives.

I'm your host, Sierra Artemus.

Tonight, we're exploring a question that goes to the very heart of democracy in South Carolina.

What does it take for leadership to reflect the people and communities it serves?

Women make up 51% percent of South Carolina's population, yet they hold less than 20% percent of elected offices.

Why is that?

And how do we change it?

To answer these questions, we have leaders from government, academia, and advocacy to discuss the opportunities, challenges and pathways for women in public service.

Tonight's panel consists of Executive director for Women in Leadership, Sarah Ballard.

She's also newly the state director for the South Carolina Forum, South Carolina's first Black female senator, Maggie Wallace Glover, University of South Carolina professor of political science.

Kathleen Searles.

We're going to call her Katie tonight.

And mayor of city of Cayce, Elise Partin.

We also have a wonderful live studio audience joining us today for our conversation.

And before we start our conversation today, I want to kind of share a little background myself.

So politics I've always been super interested in it.

You know, as I watched as a child, watched television, which is, you know, kind of how I became a journalist, you had that passion there.

But my, my passion for politics really came when I was in college, when I had a professor that really sat us down, gave us a heart to heart.

I mean, he was very, like, real about it.

In your face, like, this is your life.

You guys are failing at life right now because our class was literally doing an awful job.

And he let us know, you know, this is your life.

These are decisions that are going to impact your life, your family, your friends, everyone.

And when he put it into perspective like that, it really opened my mind.

And I'm like, oh my goodness.

I have been, you know, not taking this as serious as I should.

So I wanted to go to USC to take up politics.

And I even went to school of journalism and really focused in on politics.

But I want to ask you ladies tonight, you know, you all are coming from different areas and your representing different areas of leadership tonight.

So I really want to ask each of you from these various areas that you're coming from, what moment first made you realize that women's voices needed to be heard in these spaces?

Then anyone feel free to jump in.

Sarah Ballard> I think I had a realization when I was in college, as well.

You get out of your family situation, you get out of where you're from, and not everyone had the same background that I did in terms of the way that, as a girl and as a woman, that I was encouraged and really expected to do everything that would be expected of my brother or of anyone else.

And then I kind of started looking at it and I'm like, Wow.

My grandmothers were really pretty unusual for their time as well in terms of their relationships and their marriages and their families, and even, in the community and in their jobs and in their roles and wanted to find a way to help people who didn't have that same grounding, that same background, that same perspective, see that there are opportunities and that it's really important for women's voices to be heard.

Sierra> Absolutely.

Thank you so much.

And anyone else like to add to that?

Mayor Elise Partin> I stepped up to lead not because I thought a woman's voice was needed.

I just stepped up to lead because I saw a need and, and wanted to serve.

I gave a Ted talk in 2015 about how we need everybody to run for office, and there's still good reason for that.

We need regular people shaping the communities that we want to live in.

But I just recently gave a Ted talk about how we need more women in elected office, and there's so much research behind that, not just why we need them, but what happens when we lead, because it's so strong.

We have peace negotiations last longer, economic development and wealth opportunities increase for everyone.

We create laws to prevent violence against women and champion laws about childcare.

It makes a difference.

We are missing out on the value of women leaders.

Sierra> I love where you, where you're going with that and where you've gone with it.

You know, I think often times when there are other people that see women running, they automatically think or assume that the issues that we're going to bring up are going to be primarily of women.

But you made a very great point.

It's everyone.

One thing that I will say from a female perspective, a woman perspective, or even as a mother, you see the world differently, and especially in spaces where they're predominantly men, you're able to add, and then, you know, it's like the semicolon.

And then, you know, we have these issues.

But, and then so I really love that what you said.

And Sarah, as well, as what you said.

You know, I think it's not until once you're in a position that you realize I am also a woman.

It's like the being a woman part should be the also, not, I deserve to be in this position specifically because I am.

Would anyone else like to add?

Senator Maggie Wallace Glover> Yes.

I think one of the things that, got me involved in this, was the fact that even as a child, my parents, kept rehearsing me on the things that I needed to be able to articulate, to make it in this world, being able to stand up and tell them my name, my address, my telephone number, those kinds of things that as a female, you are kind of expected to know.

And as Madam Mayor said, we bring that to this political arena.

And having served and as I see my other colleagues who have served here, it is absolutely essential that you have that female perspective, because the kinds of things that make this world run and run well are the things that are almost second nature to us as women, budgeting, childcare, all of the things that, that sometimes our male counterparts, I always call them my brothers, the, the kinds of things that they are concerned about are, are, you know, more about the car and the tire size and, and, and they oftentimes get married so that there is a woman who will carry on the household.

I'll bring the money, but you pay the bills, that kind of thing.

And so that's why I think our presence is mandated in the, in, in the lawmaking policy development arena.

We've got to be there if things are to operate as they should.

I always say too... The creator mandated it.

There are more of us, (laughter) than of our brothers.

And so, like South Carolina, we, represent this nation.

There are more women in the world.

Why not use our power?

Sierra> Well said, well said, (applause) well said.

And you know, I want to actually stay right there because you brought up a lot of great points.

There are a lot of things that women do innately that a lot of, I'll say to men might be second nature, not necessarily first like it is for us.

And so when we think about that mindset that women are able to handle the pressure of higher level leadership, why are we seeing us in the CEO positions as teachers, single parents, organizers, other leadership realms, yet the political arena seems so far out of reach when we're already doing these things innately?

Sarah> Yeah, well, I think first and foremost that when, through my work in women in leadership, that when you ask women why, why haven't you run for office, women win at the same rates as men, just not as many women run.

And a lot of women say, no one asked me.

No one asked me to run.

I don't think anyone I mean, men just wake up thinking that they're, they're ready to run.

<Yeah.> But I think that our society, our culture, has taught women that they need to wait to be asked or to be told that they can do something and that we have to, you know, really look at us as a society that we're encouraging women and girls right from the very start, that your voice matters.

It's not a zero sum game.

Just because there are more women doesn't mean that men lose.

Just because women win, everyone wins.

It's a good thing for everyone and that we need to teach our girls that, but that we also need to be talking to our boys from the time that they're little to make sure that they understand, that that men and women are different, men and women are equal, and that they have different things, different perspectives, different experiences to bring to the table.

Sierra> Yes.

Absolutely.

Kathleen Searles> The research really backs this up, right.

It's two-fold.

It's first that women are socialized to think that roles in politics are not for them, that they're inherently masculine, that they're about power dynamics, that, that is not the typical stereotypical gender role, for women, particularly in this country.

So at an early age, women start to see, and little girls will say, that's for men.

And so it is really important that at an early age, we start to really talk to our kids about this, both our boys and our girls.

And then as women get older, they continue to get those experiences.

And in particular, we see a divergence in college where women start to have less interest in politics and men start to think that they are more qualified.

The result of that is when women do run, they are vastly more qualified than men because they wait a lot longer to make sure that their records are absolutely perfect, whereas men will often jump in a lot earlier.

Sierra> That's a very interesting perspective.

And I also want to stay there as well.

We think about barriers as well.

And I think typically when we think about barriers when it comes to running, you know, a lot of people think about campaigns, different political parties, but for women there's a different set of barriers.

So while we're still here, and you know where we are in this discussion, what would you consider some barriers that people don't necessarily think of?

You know, something that women would have to deal with in this, this area of politics?

Sen.

Glover> Fundraising, probably is the number one, reason that, women don't run, particularly now.

It's a very expensive process to run for political office.

And, in this world, just like in this state, men have those leadership roles in industry, business, all of that.

So they have access to money.

And if they don't have it, their other brothers, their male counterparts, do.

And as women, we have to, really, when you think about running, you've got to think about, okay, how do I finance this?

How do I find a male counterpart that is willing and able to invest in me?

And oftentimes, if we lose, it's been primarily not on what we could do or, or, or, or, our ability to do the work.

It is normally been because we did not have the funds to, to deal with all of the dark money that is in today's politics.

Sierra> Interesting.

And I saw you were... Mayor Elise> Well, I think there's hope, as well.

And, and, as much as we confront the realities, we also have to stay cognizant of the hope and the opportunities for us.

I helped a woman who was a nurse who became one of the youngest women elected on a city council in our state at the time, I helped a woman who is a stay at home mom, who beat, an incumbent who works at a campaign firm.

When we have women like those here, and we shine a light on that path, and we, we make sure that people don't think there is mystery to this, that it is magical, that there's something that they can't do, then we see women know how to, to step forward and to do it.

The woman that I helped, who was a stay at home mom, she not only beat the incumbent who works at a campaign firm, but she won every single precinct.

This is, this is possible.

And we have to keep reminding ourselves of that.

You know, we are home to the University of South Carolina, and if you asked us probably ten, 15, 20 years ago, would more people go to see a women's basketball game- Sierra>-Yeah.

>> than to see a men's basketball game.

We would have been like there's, there's no way.

And yet what do we know?

Coach Dawn Staley has elevated women's basketball, so much so, that fans pack the house every single game.

This is what happens when we lead and when we show up.

We can fix this now.

It's, it's a crazy thought, but if we really wanted to do something to fix this now, I would tell women, stop volunteering where you're volunteering.

Stop all the volunteering, because what, if we get in office, we don't just treat the symptoms and help the symptoms, we can address the problem.

We can prevent violence against women.

We can help to address the, the social media violence that is much more prevalent for women in elected office and in leadership.

We can, you know, create more economic development and opportunities for everyone.

So, we need women to just step forward, to know that they don't have to be perfect, as you said.

And we do that to ourselves.

We hold ourselves to such high standards, and that's phenomenal.

But not when our communities are missing out.

Sierra> Thank you so much for that.

And I'm going to dig and jump in on the deep end here.

So guys, be ready.

Buckle up for this one.

Do you feel like the issue of not getting women in leadership roles, specifically in elected roles, is an issue of not having enough support from our male counterparts?

Or is it more so women voting against their best interest?

<Oh...Yeah> Sierra> Hmmm!

The tea got hot.

Oh, this isn't water anymore.

This is tea.

Sen.

Glover> Again, I think a lot of times because we started this out talking about the fact that we are 51% percent of this state.

We are the majority.

And a lot of times, unfortunately, we can out vote, our male counterparts, simply because there are more of us registered to vote, but, on the real side, sometimes we do vote against our own best interests.

We, we listen to our brothers, our husbands, and it's kind of expected that as a family... So, sisters, if we want to do all of the things that are being suggested, through this panel, we've got to bring ourselves together, bend our backs together.

And then, (laughs) with that fist of power, we can do what the mayor just suggested.

We can get elected.

We can bring the hope.

We can save our state.

We can save our nation.

But we... got to put aside all of that other little stuff that as women, sometimes we get caught up in.

And if we, if we, we do what we are supposed to do, honestly, we really can.

As the mayor said, hope.

Keep hope alive and, and we can do this.

Sierra> Ms.

Glover, thank you so much for that.

I'm actually ready to go and get started, like now.

That was very motivational.

Thank you so much.

Mayor Elise, as well, but at this time I want to actually direct that question towards our audience.

Sister senators, I believe you're in this area.

If you guys would like to chime in on that question, let us know your response, how you feel, and I can I will repeat the question, if need be.

You guys need me to repeat?

Yeah.

So the question was, do we feel as if we're not getting enough support from our male counterparts?

Or is this an issue of women voting against their own self-interest?

Penry Gustafson> Good evening.

Thank you so much for being here.

For me, in, in my personal experience, it was not having the support of male cohorts, not having the public support of men in leadership, men in elected office who clearly supported me, clearly believed in me, clearly voted for me, but they wouldn't say anything.

They didn't want to get involved once other people were, you know, running for office or... It's a very specific situation in my, rural area.

I will say that, But for me, it wasn't it's not a matter of, it is a matter of more men supporting us.

I mean, I, I've said this before, I'm not going to, I'm on a one woman show, and my whole team getting elected was all women.

Where were my men?

Certainly they'll step up.

They need to.

Sierra> Thank you so much.

Sarah> I have a couple of points that I'd like to touch on, and the first of those is, goes back a bit to what Elise said, that we, we can lead like women.

We don't have to run for office like everyone thinks you have to.

There's not a prescription for how to do that.

And that when we get in office that we can lead like women.

We don't have to be authoritarian.

We can talk about compromise.

We can talk about working together.

So that idea that, that we also get what we give in our democracy and that we have to step up, that we have to be willing.

And I mean, I think, you know, to go to the point, the thing that's the hot topic is, you know, how ugly politics is and how divisive politics is.

And we don't, we don't have to continue that.

We can do things differently.

And we have to step up and be willing to serve, be willing to try to do things differently.

I think the other point that I'd like to touch on is women are half of the, more than half of the population.

There are a lot of men out there that are supportive and that are our allies.

We definitely need them.

This is not something that we can accomplish just with women.

This is a societal change that we need to make.

But people have to show up and vote.

Voter turnout in South Carolina is atrocious.

And if you really, people need to pay attention and they need to turn out to vote, they're a very, very small minority of the population, is electing the leaders that are that are serving us now, and particularly when it comes to a runoff or, I mean, we have some of the sister senators that experienced that tiny, tiny percentage of the population making decisions about who our elected officials are.

We have to show up and vote.

We have to pay attention, and we have to show up and vote.

Sierra> Absolutely.

And I'm going to have a question for you in just a second, Katie.

But I want to take a, ask a question to the audience.

Katrina Shealy... I can't see out there.

Katrina?

There we go.

If you could, talk to us a little bit about reaching across the aisles, what does that look like working with men?

Katrina Shealy> Well, to me, it was easy to reach across the aisle.

And, you know, most of the people that know me know that I worked on a lot of issues, children, families, veterans, women's issues, and passed a lot of legislation by working across the aisle.

And, by working across the aisles, is probably why I'm no longer there.

Because I worked on the right thing.

I did what was right.

And a lot of times you do what's right at your own peril.

But I wouldn't change a thing I did.

You know, back to the question about women supporting women and, you know, your leadership supporting, I actually had, I was in leadership.

I finally made it to leadership, but it didn't matter because I had the vast majority of this horrible, far right wing caucus that couldn't stand what we what the women stood for, and women stood up for what was right.

But, you know, I think if you if you work on the right issues and we... who can vote against children?

Who can vote against saving children?

Who can vote against, you know, protecting women from domestic violence?

Well, we do have some people, I mean, God forgive me if you're Republican, but we have some people in the Republican Party that can vote against protecting women from domestic violence, and they'll even call you a lesser cut of meat if they get the opportunity.

But, you know, we have those people, but there are, things that... you can't there's no reason you can't work across the aisle.

And that's the only way we're ever going to make it work.

...there are times I wish we didn't have parties that you could run because you're the best person, Because if that was the way it was, maybe the best people would really get elected and things would be different at the State House.

Sierra> Yeah.

Thank you so much.

And the question I'm getting ready to ask is literally going to follow up that.

Is there anyone else that would like to answer with the sister senators or, Mia McLeod> So you have a different question or... Sierra> No, it was the same question if you wanted to follow up with that one.

Mia> Sure.

So, I spent the majority of my time in the South Carolina House and Senate as a Democrat.

I, became an independent in 2023, and it wasn't difficult to work across the aisle.

I won't say, that it always had the outcome that I wanted, but it was, I will say that it was worth it every time.

And, Katrina's right, like there are so many legislators on both sides of the political aisle now who really struggle because the environment is so hyper-partisan, so divisive on just about every issue.

I mean, even issues that we wouldn't... I wouldn't have thought would have been divisive, for instance, Covid-19.

I want to go back, though, to the question that you asked before, because one of the things as everyone was talking, and I echo and agree with all of the sentiments that have already been expressed for me, though, I think there's still a little more to add, because there are women who, don't support other women.

And that too is very disheartening.

And it happens still way too much.

And I'm not one of those people that believes that just because I'm a woman, you should support me, just because I'm Black, you should support me.

That's never been me.

I've always asked for people to give me the opportunity to earn their support by showing them who I am, what I'm about, and if my vision and my values are aligned, then, you know, give me a chance.

And I think today, what we're seeing, at least what I'm seeing with the number of women who are fearful about running, I get it, I totally get it, as to why they would feel that way, because even those, even some women who offer themselves for public office and admit that they don't fully understand what to expect, or you know, how they need to show up to, to be effective and to serve and in a balanced and, you know, fair way.

Um... It's not just the women.

It's not just those women who talked themselves out of running.

Sometimes it's the people who are misinformed, by what they've seen over and over and over again, and they don't understand that the freshness, the new perspectives, the new experiences, that different people bring into the equation is great.

I mean, that's where real change comes.

And so you have people who don't understand that.

And so they keep well, I know so-and-so and I've been voting for this person who might happen to be a male, for 20 years, or I see this person at church, or I see this person at the grocery store, and that's not what it's about.

It's about knowing how that person, whether that person is truly representing you, whether that person is truly showing up for you and fighting for you.

How does that person vote on the issues that you care about?

And those are the things that I think we need to be talking more about so that women feel comfortable not waiting to be asked, but saying, "Hey, why not me?"

"I have this experience, I have, I'm passionate about this."

You know, I want to be the change and give them that opportunity if they are willing to, you know, offer themselves and they may not have the experience.

I had so many people, "Oh, you need to get your name out there first."

When I first ran for the House, I had no experience, no name recognition, And I'm trying to represent Richland County, where I live and Kershaw County, which is rural Republican.

And if I had listened to the people, campaign operatives, party operatives, I would not have run.

And that's just, you know, keeping it real and being honest about that, even though I was really seriously considering it and trying to navigate that...possibility, I got more negativity from people who, you know, could have really made the difference in terms of my willingness to, to step out there and run.

Sierra> Thank you so much for sharing the insight.

Mayor Elise> Can we go back to what Sarah said a minute ago about the, just the toxicity of what happens when women are in office?

We have to address that, because hanging out there, anybody who's any woman who's listening and watching the show probably goes, and I'm out.

That's why I'm not doing it.

But again, we fix that if we have more women in elected office.

And I don't say that naively, I am a five time elected, nonpartisan mayor in a state in the bottom 1% percent for women's power and influence in our country.

It's the reality, but it means it's not like this everywhere.

And we don't have to accept the status quo.

We can change it, today.

I took my daughter to see "Suffs", the Broadway show about the suffragists just recently, and it was absolutely moving.

Women.

Women did that.

Not that long ago, we didn't have the right to vote.

Sarah> We didn't have the right to get a mortgage without our father or husband, or a credit card.

Sierra> Walk down the street.

Where's their men?

Mayor Elise> Right.

Right.

And we've made so much progress.

Let's just leapfrog this forward and fix these things.

Sierra> Okay.

Well, I had a question, for Katie, I'm going to hold on to this, but I think where we're going right now is really I mean, you know, so we we talked about, and Ms.

McLeod made a great point.

So the, the average age of the current or US senators, in general, is 63.

So let's take a look at South Carolina for a moment.

So we have Jim Clyburn.

And I'm not being ageist about this at all.

Jim Clyburn is 85.

Lindsey Graham is 70.

So how do we inspire a new generation, when seats are being held for so long?

Because you mentioned some people are just voting for the same people over and over and over again.

It's not to say they're not doing a good job, it's just to say, when do we open the floor?

When do we, when do we pass down the baton and encourage other people because people might feel discouraged.

Well, I would like to run for this, but how could I, when you have people that are loyal to a certain person and will continue to vote for them anyway?

So how do we how do we open that door?

Kathleen> Yeah, I think that part of what Elise mentioned earlier is we.. young people are not stupid.

They, they see the vitriol aimed at women in politics.

But the best way we can fix that is by having more women in politics.

And what that means is that women, some women, need to be at the forefront.

Right?

Like the women on the stage.

And the more women are in rooms, the more women are in legislative bodies, the less likely we are to be othered, that we could be targeted, that we can be, that we can become the targets of vitriol and animosity and hate, but it's really hard to get there.

We need to sort of get to that, increasing numbers in those rooms so that it's not always the one woman in the room, the one woman that's targeted, the one woman in the party apparatus.

And as you mentioned earlier, state of South Carolina is one of the worst in the United States for a number of women in office.

I think we're at 13% percent.

And the, there is 28% percent women in the US Congress and about 30% percent women hold state offices countrywide.

We are 49th in terms of ranking of women in office.

And so part of our problem, specifically in the state is we just don't have enough women in these rooms.

So every time a woman runs, every time a woman is in these rooms, as the sister senators expressed, they're often targeted and othered.

And it's a very difficult path, but unfortunately, the way to get over that hump is to have more women recruited, more women in party leadership, more women coming up ...through the ranks, socializing women at an early age, that this is for you, too.

Sierra> Thank you so much for that.

And SC Emerge, we have joining us in the audience, as well.

You all help people or women to be able to run for offices.

What are what are some things?

Because I realize that these, these higher level leadership positions or elected positions, isn't obtainable for everyone?

But what if you want to help in...some way, how can you help?

And if you do want to run for an office, what resources are available?

Emerge SC> Thank you.

So I think first.

Yes, we need women on the ballot, but we as voters have to support the women on the ballot.

Fundraising was mentioned.

Fundraising is hard regardless of who you are.

But we know for women who may not come from political families, they don't have the political background trying to get out there and ask people for money, they don't have as many networks.

So if we want to see more women run, we've got to volunteer for their campaigns.

We've have to open up our pocketbooks and donate to their campaigns.

It takes money to run.

It's not free.

To get your name out there, even door knocking, you got to leave something behind.

That costs us money.

Everything takes money.

And so if we really want to see more women in office, we've got to help actually build those women campaigns up and support those campaigns.

From our perspective here in Emerge, what we've seen is that, one, women need the tools to know how to run a campaign, but the biggest thing is they need a network because it is so few women on the ballot in certain areas, they are the only woman or the only woman of color, or the only woman of their, of their identity, or the first woman to run for the seat, but it feels very lonely.

And so really being able to offer that network and that support for women, I think, goes beyond anything else, so they don't feel like things are so lonely and that they're in this by themselves.

So really, we want to see more women, we as the voters and the people who are supporting candidates, we've got to actually go behind that candidate and push them forward and be that support system.

Kathleen> Can I foot stomp that really quick?

<Sierra> Yes.

Kathleen> I have two practical things that I think are really related, and I love what you just said.

One, there's really interesting research that suggests that women that are involved in athletics earlier are more likely to see themselves in political like, as having the sort of skills they might need for political office.

So if we can get our girls into sports early, that might really help cultivate some of those skills that will help them later on.

The other thing is we know that really compelling and it's about voters, right?

So that's all of us.

And the research suggests that voters tend to exert this double buy in when it comes to women candidates.

So they want women candidates that are traditionally parents or mothers that support their family and stay home with their children.

But then they also want women candidates that are more qualified than men.

And those two things do not often go together.

So as voters, we can also say, "Okay, let me gut check myself here.

"Am I, am I putting a standard on this female candidate that I would not otherwise because of my traditional notions or the way I've been taught that families should look and families should be.

So that's another thing we could all do.

Sarah> Or even, what does it mean to be qualified?

Looking at what does it mean to be qualified.

And when you and when you say having a family and having a traditional role doesn't necessarily mean that you are unqualified.

<Yeah, absolutely.> Sierra> And, you know, I know we're in the talks of voting and ballots and things, but, Ms.

Maggie, you actually brought someone here today as a guest that you want to for people to know.

Could you explain more of who that is and more about them?

Sen.

Glover> Yes, I brought two, beautiful young sisters, here this evening.

One has already attempted, and ran for an office, and the other, both brilliant, but the other one has not yet, but prayerfully, soon will.

And, I want you to hear from them, because, honestly, this is what we all must do.

And that is, when you see an opportunity of a young female that you think can do this, encourage them.

I try to keep, Ms.

Mormon in this environment, so that she gets an early start.

This is my first trip with Ms.

Diamond.

Isn't that a beautiful name?

Her mama knew she was going to be right for this field, but I want them to see so that it's not new.

And they get to operate and to see how we operate in this arena.

So, yes.

The mic has been passed to them.

And please, hear from them.

Tanya Morman-Jackson> Yes.

I'm Tanya Morman-Jackson.

And I did take an opportunity to run for city council in Florence, South Carolina.

And it's incredible to have someone who believes in you.

We were talking about, how do we get women to run.

Well, when you have someone who is there and you can walk in their footsteps, number one, that's something that's very positive.

And although and I say this, although I did not get the win, I absolutely got the lessons because I understood what it's like to have someone behind you, have a team behind, you have people invest their money, even the small dollar investors, you know, that meant a lot to me.

And it's about, it really is just about getting out here and meeting the people where they are, making them believe, having them believe that their voice is important.

So, I know that, that will always be the case.

So it's all about your your grassroot campaign, getting out here, meeting people, letting them know who you are, what it is you like to do, and let them know that you want the same... as a woman, typically, we want the same thing that the constituents want.

So that's how I feel about it.

Diamond Boatwright> Good evening.

And I just want to start by saying thank you.

I am Diamond Boatwright.

And just being in this room is very encouraging and is very educating.

So yes, I am in the beginning stages of considering the run for whatever seat that I am going to overtake in my community.

(laughs) So I do have a level of boldness that come along with me.

I am one of eight girls.

We don't have any brothers in, the sense of where we were raised together as a family.

So I have to have that sense of boldness.

And with that, it comes a care for my community.

So even though I'm not in office right now, I believe someone stated before, it starts with caring in serving your community.

And so I serve my community in major ways, especially in the small business sector.

And with that, I was approached, "Hey, you need to run for office."

And so when it came to me one time, it came to me two times and then I was like, "Okay, is that the confirmation?"

But for me, as, I'm not I'm not a millennium, but I'm not sure.

You know.

I'm still that young age, but I don't I don't know what group I fall into, but that's okay.

But with that being said, it is that, thought of am I really qualified?

Yes, I have the degrees.

Yes, I'm doing the community work.

Yes, I ran non-profits and all of these things.

But it's the question, am I really qualified, that really, you know, kind of put me in that back seat.

So I've seen the men in my community, the young men in my community get up and they run for office and they win office.

But really, what qualifies them?

Is it just because the fact that there are a man.

You know.

So it's really those questions and I will also say, just in regards to getting more young girls just thinking about running for office.

We have a, an agent that really, I work for South Carolina State University, 1890, but it's not, that's not the point.

Our 4-H agent, she is very, very intentional of civil engagement.

And those are the things that make the impact in changing the mindset to young women letting us know, "Okay, I can do this."

I'm learning what that looks like.

I'm learning what goes into that so that we can start to build that confidence at a younger age.

Sierra> Yes.

Thank you so much.

For women who, have held...I'm sorry... for the women in the room who have either run for office or are currently in any seats or, you know, or wanting to, does this give you hope?

I'm going to ask Senator Devine, if you like to chime in.

Does this give anyone hope for the future?

Tameika Isaac Devine> Thank you for that question.

I mean, I think it definitely gives people hope.

Number one, just knowing that you're not alone.

I think what she said about wondering if you're qualified, I think everybody has had that thought, at one way or another.

But the reality is we, we were born qualified.

And so we've got to step out there.

I think the other thing that gives you hope is just seeing the people in the, the women in this room to understand that you're not alone, that, you know, you have mentors like Senator Glover.

You have sisters, like my sister senators.

You have people that you can reach back and mentor.

and so knowing that you have ...that group of folks, should give us hope that we can do it.

And the only thing that keeps us from doing it is our own mind saying that we can't.

Sierra> Thank you so much.

Anyone else like to add?

Margie?

Sen.

Margie Bright Matthews> Thank you.

Senator Margie Bright Matthews.

I wanted to address something, and I'm sorry about going off of your question.

Yes, I have hope, but I think when we look at what has happened in the state of South Carolina and the women here, we have to realize that there is a Bible belt.

And in that Bible belt, most of the women that are doing and holding up those churches are holding up churches that are ran by men.

And somehow we're going to have to figure out a way to get to those women, because the women here, they know that they are empowered.

They know that they're a lioness, that, can have the lion, the baby lions and go out and, and catch the, the prey.

But we have to realize the state we're in.

We're in South Carolina, there is an evangelical Bible belt.

And I think that causes a lot of the women to not see that a woman like them should lead.

That's one of the other elements that we have to realize that we need to face that and figure out, an equation because it's not lost on me that Black men were given the right to vote before White women.

So when you when you think of the dichotomy that a woman can not, should not be leading because she can't act under pressure, that's some of what's going on.

So but there's hope because we have pioneers like the Senator Glovers the Senator Shealys, and my sisters that are here.

It's hope because we have to get to some of those women because we keep talking about electing women.

Some of the women that I've seen that are on the far, far extremes are not women I want to elect always.

We need to elect good women, women that are going to fight for our men, our boys and our children.

>> Thank you so much, Senator.

Sierra> You know, before we close, we're a couple of minutes out from closing.

I want to make sure that no one in this room feels discouraged.

I know we've mentioned a lot of problems, a lot of, you know, concerns and opportunities.

I'll say, just to be more positive.

But, you know, we've also mentioned there are so many ways that we can encourage more women to vote or not vote, but I think that is a part of it for sure, <Yes> you know, to encourage more women to run.

You know, I think it's a lonely experience.

You don't feel like you have someone to have you back.

You don't have someone guiding you.

You don't even know where to start.

You don't even know there's resources there.

But they're there.

So how do we, how do we bring attention to these resources?

How do we bring attention that there are mentors?

How do we, how do we get the, spread the word so that more women feel more inclined to, to even start from the bottom with, with, with volunteering?

How do we do that?

I'm asking for myself.

Mayor Elise> Well, I think what SCETV is doing right here is- Sierra> A great start.

(applause) Mayor Elise> And then what the senator did by bringing other women here and shining a light for them.

You know, what organizations are doing and research does to help us to know what we have, how we can take that step forward, what are our paths forward?

I continue to shine a light through a substack called Elected Fe.

Fe like iron.

Fe for female, Fe for iron, we're same-same, women are strong.

Sierra> Yes, exactly.

Mayor Elise> And that's global because we need easy to access resources to know there is hope, to know this is actually a pretty easy fix.

If we all, the 51% percent of this population decided to take action, this is fixed before midnight.

All> Yes.

Sen.

Glover> That's it.

Sarah> I'd like to also, I don't know if it's flipping the script or maybe just kind of changing the way we look at things.

So, you said you didn't win, but you did win the conversation that you created by running by even, even when women don't win, when women are in the race.

And I'd love for you to talk a little bit more about the research, it changes the way that, that, that our country and that voters look at women in politics, that look at women running for office when they see women out there as part of that discussion, as part of, of that elective process.

Kathleen> Yeah, our own, South Carolina's own Marion Wright, who started the South Carolina Children's Defense Fund, said, "You can't be what you can't see."

And so even if you don't win, we all win if you run.

If you show up, if you vote, if you volunteer, if you donate, if you're the mentor, if you support, if you tell your neighbor that's a young woman you know, have you thought about running?

You know, what you bring to the table, is special.

We all have a role we could play.

Sometimes people just need a little bit of encouragement.

and normalizing it, for men, as well.

You know, men need to see that women can run.

Men need to see that discussion.

Again, we there are male allies out there and, and to just normalize that idea of like a female candidate, it's not an unusual thing.

It's not an aberration.

It's just part of the process.

Sierra> Ms.

Glover, would you like to add anything?

Sen.

Glover> If every woman in the room, leaves here tonight going back into your respective home, community, your job, and you start to share the hope that you got here tonight.

And to really start to cultivate, talk about it and talk about the strength that we have and how, it's almost criminal not to use it when you have been blessed.

You have to appreciate and then use the blessing.

Kamala Harris, if women across this nation had just said, I think she can work for us.

She's got the experience.

An attorney, all of it.

If we, because having not supported our sister, here we are.

(laughter) Sierra> Thank you so much for that.

I do want to ask if there's anyone on our panel that has any final thoughts.

If you feel like you've gotten as much, as much out as you can in the time that we have allowed tonight.

That's great.

And, and if not, we can definitely turn things over to our audience if there's any final thoughts.

Sister Senator, sounds like Katrina or Rebecca.

Mark, if you can give them the mic.

Katrina Shealy> The only thing I want is... I'm sorry.

I usually talk so loud, I don't need one of these.

The only thing I have to say is.

Elise, I hope you're right, because as easy as you make it sound, I know how hard it is when you put those boots on the ground.

I've been there.

I've fought the good fight.

And you know I lost a battle nobody should lose, you know?

But it was a lot of voter apathy because nobody showed up to vote.

When you have a 3% percent turnout in a big district in Lexington County, that's absolutely ridiculous.

But I think I go back to my sister, Senator Margie, when she says that, you know, you have women that are afraid to vote for other women because of what's going to happen when you get home.

Well, nobody knows who you vote for when you go behind the curtain.

But...undoubtedly they do and they're afraid.

And the sister senators stood up for what was right in the state of South Carolina.

And all the Republican women lost because of it.

And but you know what, I think we're all proud of what we did.

And, you know, every mail piece we had went out that had a picture of us, accepting the JFK Profile and Courage Award.

And we're all really proud of that and we're proud of what we did.

So I think that what you said is a great thought.

And I have hope.

I have hope in 2024, we had more women in the South Carolina Senate than ever.

We had six women.

Now, that's not a lot, when you got 46 members, but six was a landmark because when I came, there was one and we built on that.

But now there's two again.

So we're doing something wrong and we've got to work on that.

So I hope your hope is right.

Sen.

Glover> We've got to support each other, ladies.

>> I'm Penry Gustafson.

I didn't, introduce myself earlier I have the hardest thing to say, I think.

I just wanted to add a couple of things.

I was never asked to run, and I was never the GOP pick.

Okay, I did it, I stepped up.

Much like, I'm hearing these, nice women in the room stepping up, I stepped up, but this is what people need to understand.

First time candidates, male or female, usually don't win the first time, anyway.

They usually don't.

I knew that.

The day after the 2018 House election, because I ran for the House first, the day after I was giving out my business card, asking for votes for two years from then.

I'm not finished.

I will tell you right now, there's nobody on this front row who's finished, and you might just see one of us back in office who might have left office before.

But, you can't give up.

Unless you just need to.

And I think there's a time and a place for everyone.

But we need to encourage women.

We need to give them the financial pathway to do so.

They have to have the money.

They have to.

Sierra> We certainly appreciate your feedback, and your responses.

And I want to thank our panelists today for joining us and sharing such wonderful insight.

And again, to our audience and, and all of the experts in our audience as well.

We will also have this on our website on SCETV.org, as well.

But thank you all for joining us, Women in Politics and Leadership in South Carolina.

(applause)