1
00:00:06,910 --> 00:00:09,400
Welcome to the Balancing
Life's Issues podcast,

2
00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:14,160
a show designed to share
views and opinions around
the idea of work-life balance

3
00:00:14,430 --> 00:00:16,400
with your host, Wendy Walner.

4
00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:24,720
A I think it's a great idea and is
enormous change taking place from

5
00:00:24,910 --> 00:00:27,480
time that I graduated from college till.

6
00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:32,160
Today. That's my mom. She's 87, she's
voted in 17 presidential elections,

7
00:00:32,340 --> 00:00:34,480
and as we recognize Women's History Month,

8
00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:36,960
I wanna start with her because
I'm feeling frustrated.

9
00:00:37,370 --> 00:00:40,440
We've taken steps backwards
recently, some big ones,

10
00:00:40,540 --> 00:00:42,840
and I know my mother thinks
that this month is important,

11
00:00:43,300 --> 00:00:44,320
but I need to know why.

12
00:00:44,630 --> 00:00:48,800
When I graduated from college, we went
to get a Mrs degree to get married.

13
00:00:49,110 --> 00:00:50,680
That was something we hated.

14
00:00:50,710 --> 00:00:54,240
Wait, what? I had to do some Googling to
figure out what she was talking about.

15
00:00:54,500 --> 00:00:58,560
And there it is. Thanks to
a P B S article titled Mrs.

16
00:00:58,710 --> 00:01:03,280
America Women's Roles in the
1950s under huge societal

17
00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:04,410
pressure to get married,

18
00:01:04,410 --> 00:01:08,520
women who went to college were stereotyped
as going to get their r s degree,

19
00:01:08,710 --> 00:01:12,840
meaning getting a husband. That is how
society viewed women in college. Well.

20
00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:14,600
We didn't have a lot of opportunities.

21
00:01:15,010 --> 00:01:19,160
First thing I did when I graduated from
college was go to secretarial school,

22
00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:22,720
learn how to type, because that was
a very big job that you could get.

23
00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:24,600
Everybody was looking for a secretary,

24
00:01:24,980 --> 00:01:26,880
and you had to know how
fast you could type.

25
00:01:27,190 --> 00:01:28,560
Even with a college degree.

26
00:01:28,930 --> 00:01:31,960
We're all aware that women were
forced into roles at that time,

27
00:01:32,140 --> 00:01:35,640
as my mother was becoming one. It's
hard to hear her say that, though.

28
00:01:35,830 --> 00:01:40,200
That was gonna be our final place in
life. Just being home, being a mom.

29
00:01:40,390 --> 00:01:42,360
It's sad knowing that
such wonderful people,

30
00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:44,680
like my mom felt so stuck at that time.

31
00:01:44,860 --> 00:01:48,520
And it's interesting and encouraging
to recognize how far we've come. We.

32
00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:52,400
Have a long way to go. We had, I thought,
a very qualified lady for president,

33
00:01:52,820 --> 00:01:55,040
and I was sure she would
win, and she didn't.

34
00:01:55,060 --> 00:01:58,520
And I think one of the main reasons
is, again, because she was a woman.

35
00:02:10,300 --> 00:02:12,040
Mom, do you see any hope here?

36
00:02:12,770 --> 00:02:16,720
We've come a long way, huge
difference from when I was young,

37
00:02:16,900 --> 00:02:21,200
and I think there's much more equality
than there was and more to come.

38
00:02:27,540 --> 00:02:31,720
As we started to talk about the message
we wanted to deliver for Women's History

39
00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:35,120
Month, it's no surprise that there's
a lot of information out there.

40
00:02:35,830 --> 00:02:39,480
This one from mom.com, though
really resignated with me,

41
00:02:40,620 --> 00:02:45,080
the contributions of women throughout
the years have gone unappreciated and

42
00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:47,200
forgotten. But each year in March,

43
00:02:47,270 --> 00:02:52,200
women's History Month is a time for
reflection, appreciation, and celebration.

44
00:02:52,670 --> 00:02:57,560
Women's History Month is an important
time to recognize contributions both large

45
00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:02,240
and small, that have changed our lives.
So the better inspiration is contagious.

46
00:03:02,740 --> 00:03:03,460
And this year,

47
00:03:03,460 --> 00:03:07,040
the theme for Women's History Month is
celebrating women who tell our stories.

48
00:03:07,660 --> 00:03:11,480
So today we're hearing from women who've
inspired me through their stories.

49
00:03:12,050 --> 00:03:15,880
We've already heard from my mom, Monica,
who travels with me everywhere I go.

50
00:03:16,270 --> 00:03:18,400
Even at her age, she's as strong as ever,

51
00:03:18,740 --> 00:03:22,320
but she still needs some encouragement
from time to time. No, I I know that,

52
00:03:22,340 --> 00:03:25,200
you know, I'm, I didn't do it. No
love. It was fine. I, I don't like,

53
00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:29,440
I I would like to say goodbye.
Oh, okay. Whatever you, bye.

54
00:03:29,820 --> 00:03:33,200
But don't we all need encouragement?
And that's why I've invited someone.

55
00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:38,120
I admire Amy Siskin to share her words
for Women to Stream Month with you today.

56
00:03:38,540 --> 00:03:42,840
Amy is a defender of democracy, best
known as the Author of The Weekly List,

57
00:03:43,260 --> 00:03:44,600
the President of the New Agenda,

58
00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:47,800
a not-for-profit dedicated
to the Advancement of Women.

59
00:03:48,340 --> 00:03:50,000
But I'll let her introduce herself.

60
00:03:52,530 --> 00:03:56,640
First of all, thank you for having
me, and Happy Woman's History Month.

61
00:03:57,740 --> 00:03:59,800
So I have done, um,

62
00:04:00,370 --> 00:04:03,640
three completely different things so far,

63
00:04:04,780 --> 00:04:08,360
and it kind of brings me to something
that I always tell my mentees,

64
00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:13,120
especially if they're in college or just
coming out of college with a wisdom of

65
00:04:13,300 --> 00:04:16,960
age and having been, you
know, in the workforce or,

66
00:04:17,220 --> 00:04:21,160
or out in, in the volunteer force
as well for several decades,

67
00:04:21,750 --> 00:04:26,240
that you'll probably have a lot of
different careers or passions or

68
00:04:26,310 --> 00:04:28,120
volunteer kind of things that you do.

69
00:04:28,980 --> 00:04:33,720
So you don't need to know right away
where your ambitions lie or where

70
00:04:33,750 --> 00:04:36,400
your path is going to lead you. For me, I,

71
00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:40,280
I started out in a
traditional job jobs, uh,

72
00:04:40,340 --> 00:04:43,160
in the distressed debt
field in, in Wall Street.

73
00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:48,200
I left Wall Street in 2006.
And since then, I guess I,

74
00:04:48,350 --> 00:04:51,480
I've been giving back in various ways.

75
00:04:51,660 --> 00:04:55,080
I'm a big believer in learn, earn return.

76
00:04:55,760 --> 00:05:00,320
I co-founded a national women's
organization that I still run

77
00:05:00,580 --> 00:05:03,800
and is still very much a
part in focus of what I do.

78
00:05:05,020 --> 00:05:09,640
And in 2016 as, which is
what many folks know me for,

79
00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:10,753
I, um,

80
00:05:10,780 --> 00:05:15,200
got very involved in saving our
democracy and a project called The Weekly

81
00:05:15,550 --> 00:05:20,320
List that got me even more
involved in politics than I had

82
00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:21,240
been. So,

83
00:05:21,570 --> 00:05:26,240
three completely different things
and see where life takes me next.

84
00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:30,800
A loving, I think take away takeaway
number one is that idea of learn, earn,

85
00:05:30,860 --> 00:05:34,120
and return. Yes. Which
is such a great lesson.

86
00:05:34,980 --> 00:05:39,560
So this year's theme of Women's History
Month is really celebrating women

87
00:05:39,940 --> 00:05:43,680
who tell our stories. Who
should we know about? Oh.

88
00:05:43,740 --> 00:05:45,320
Boy. I, you know,

89
00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:49,880
I think that you can find heroines
in any field that you're in,

90
00:05:50,460 --> 00:05:54,320
and I personally feel
like you should research,

91
00:05:54,970 --> 00:05:59,600
reach out to people that have part
of what they've done that is of

92
00:05:59,840 --> 00:06:02,800
interest to you, if they're
still alive. I mean, <laugh>,

93
00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:07,400
I use that as an example because my North
Star has always been Eleanor Roosevelt

94
00:06:07,430 --> 00:06:09,880
because my mother was from
a different generation.

95
00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:12,520
I grew up always hearing
stories about Eleanor.

96
00:06:12,540 --> 00:06:15,800
But whatever career field
that I have been in,

97
00:06:16,190 --> 00:06:20,760
I've always looked to women that are
in that field that I can sort of aspire

98
00:06:20,980 --> 00:06:25,680
to look at their path, understand
that they've made mistakes,

99
00:06:25,790 --> 00:06:29,000
that nothing for any
woman that you, you know,

100
00:06:29,060 --> 00:06:30,960
are reading about ever went smoothly.

101
00:06:31,620 --> 00:06:35,880
The number of names that I have met
of Amazing Woman, because I'm <laugh>,

102
00:06:36,140 --> 00:06:37,400
I'm 57 at this point,

103
00:06:37,460 --> 00:06:41,640
and I've done so many events and met so
many amazing women over the decades. I,

104
00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:43,720
I don't even wanna start to name people,

105
00:06:44,300 --> 00:06:48,000
but I would just say if
there's a particular field
that you're interested in,

106
00:06:48,980 --> 00:06:53,480
um, to read up about people read up
about their journey. And as you do so,

107
00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:57,120
you'll learn that nothing ever
came easy to anyone. Uh, you know,

108
00:06:57,120 --> 00:07:01,800
I'll go back to Eleanor Roosevelt, my,
my North Star. She lost her mother,

109
00:07:02,020 --> 00:07:06,600
she lost her father before she was
11. She was raised by her grandmother.

110
00:07:06,860 --> 00:07:10,160
She had a really tough go
of it early in life. Uh,

111
00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:12,840
she was born in an era
that 50 years later,

112
00:07:12,860 --> 00:07:14,640
she would probably be our
first woman president.

113
00:07:14,740 --> 00:07:18,760
And that it's really important to
put in the work, put in the grit,

114
00:07:19,220 --> 00:07:23,120
be resilient, fail, pick
yourself up and keep going.

115
00:07:23,780 --> 00:07:27,280
You know, I love that because how do
we pick ourselves back up? You know,

116
00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:29,040
I had the mantra of Eleanor Roosevelt,

117
00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:31,920
nobody can make you feel
inferior without your consent.

118
00:07:32,220 --> 00:07:33,053
Yes.

119
00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:36,680
I think one thing is interesting is that
we're all sort of wondering if we take

120
00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:40,560
a journey through your career, and
you mentioned Eleanor Roosevelt,

121
00:07:40,990 --> 00:07:42,760
have women really made progress?

122
00:07:43,300 --> 00:07:47,480
So the organization, I found the
new agenda, I found it in 2008,

123
00:07:47,540 --> 00:07:49,040
and it was as,

124
00:07:49,060 --> 00:07:53,800
as a result of observing the sexism
and the misogyny in the 2008 election,

125
00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:56,280
which is when Hillary
first ran for president.

126
00:07:57,580 --> 00:08:00,600
And I feel like because
of what happened to her,

127
00:08:00,620 --> 00:08:05,200
and a lot of grassroots efforts came
about because of Hillary's historic first

128
00:08:05,300 --> 00:08:08,280
run, things seemed to get better.

129
00:08:08,670 --> 00:08:10,720
Women's representation improved.

130
00:08:11,170 --> 00:08:16,160
There was real watchdogs of any
sexism and misogyny in the media,

131
00:08:16,420 --> 00:08:20,560
in the workplace, to the point
where I thought to myself, gee,

132
00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:22,200
Hillary's gonna win in 2016,

133
00:08:22,220 --> 00:08:24,960
and then I can pack it all
up and consider a job done.

134
00:08:25,390 --> 00:08:26,840
Obviously that didn't happen.

135
00:08:27,620 --> 00:08:31,160
But what I've observed
since 2016, first of all,

136
00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:33,400
we lived through some really tough years,

137
00:08:33,660 --> 00:08:38,280
but my observation of what happens in
traumatic times is we tend to, as women,

138
00:08:38,330 --> 00:08:40,960
fight others battles and,
and put ourself last.

139
00:08:41,150 --> 00:08:45,480
It's sort of what we're socialized
to do. And I feel like over the past,

140
00:08:46,180 --> 00:08:48,120
you know, six, seven years, we've,

141
00:08:48,130 --> 00:08:52,840
we've slipped backwards again that a
lot of the progress that we were making

142
00:08:53,260 --> 00:08:57,960
has been sidelined. That the
whole focus within corporations,

143
00:08:58,180 --> 00:09:02,120
within any fields you're looking
at, we made great strides,

144
00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:03,720
and then we kind of went sideways,

145
00:09:03,780 --> 00:09:08,000
and now I'm concerned we're even going
backwards. It's, it's really hard work,

146
00:09:08,300 --> 00:09:11,480
and it's really hard for
women to put women first,

147
00:09:11,500 --> 00:09:13,080
and I think we're really bad at it.

148
00:09:13,860 --> 00:09:17,440
So I hear the second call to action
is for women to own that and say,

149
00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:18,400
wait a minute, I matter.

150
00:09:18,860 --> 00:09:19,693
Yes.

151
00:09:19,940 --> 00:09:23,640
Now, a young person or a middle age or
any age comes to you and says, look, Amy,

152
00:09:23,780 --> 00:09:27,960
I'm super ambitious. I wanna really
get to the top, but I'm being labeled.

153
00:09:27,990 --> 00:09:32,680
What would you say to that person
who is really ambitious, directive,

154
00:09:33,110 --> 00:09:36,540
assertive? Where are we
on the conversation of,

155
00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:41,020
to be ambitious is perfectly fine for
a woman and more acceptable today?

156
00:09:41,730 --> 00:09:44,820
Yeah, I think there's still
stereotypes with that. I, you know,

157
00:09:44,820 --> 00:09:46,820
there's a reason why
we're one of the last,

158
00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:50,620
if not the last developed country
that hasn't had a woman leader,

159
00:09:50,850 --> 00:09:55,820
because women who wanna be the president
or wanna be a c e o, if they say it,

160
00:09:56,170 --> 00:10:00,460
it's like, oh, oh, she's ambitious.
Whereas if a man says that,

161
00:10:00,850 --> 00:10:03,180
it's like, oh, he's a leader.

162
00:10:03,580 --> 00:10:07,780
I think we have to be really aware of
what our own voices are saying to ourself.

163
00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:11,300
And I think it's not only okay,

164
00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:15,620
but important that women recognize
the need to make money and financial

165
00:10:15,620 --> 00:10:16,453
independence.

166
00:10:16,910 --> 00:10:20,860
Maybe ambition is just a word
that we should substitute out for.

167
00:10:21,140 --> 00:10:23,060
I wanna be successful,

168
00:10:23,460 --> 00:10:26,460
I wanna go to higher rungs in my career.

169
00:10:27,140 --> 00:10:31,260
I think you should figure out what
fulfills you and keep doing it until it

170
00:10:31,260 --> 00:10:35,020
doesn't fulfill you anymore. And
then find a new passion to chase.

171
00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:37,380
And that's a very like,
privileged thing to say.

172
00:10:37,460 --> 00:10:40,660
A lot of people's careers don't allow
them that financial flexibility.

173
00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:45,660
But if you're in a place and you've done
it and it's just not bringing you joy,

174
00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:51,780
um, there are plenty of career fields
that you can try that make sense to pivot

175
00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:55,700
and speak to mentors and
reach out to people, uh,

176
00:10:55,700 --> 00:10:58,380
in different career
fields and, and you know,

177
00:10:58,380 --> 00:11:00,020
listen out to what they went through.

178
00:11:00,020 --> 00:11:03,380
Listen out about the possibilities
of doing something different. So.

179
00:11:03,380 --> 00:11:06,620
I kind of hear this third call to
action about be a little brave,

180
00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:10,980
be a little courageous, take some risks
when you can. We're not just jumping in,

181
00:11:10,990 --> 00:11:13,660
we're gonna be careful and
mindful and make a plan.

182
00:11:13,980 --> 00:11:18,100
A CEO of a work-life balance company,
where are you on the whole, uh,

183
00:11:18,170 --> 00:11:22,140
work-life balance controversy that,
uh, it, it, it, and it, by the way,

184
00:11:22,330 --> 00:11:26,420
I've been doing it 30 years. It's still
as controversial then now. So what,

185
00:11:26,420 --> 00:11:27,460
what's your take on it?

186
00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:29,620
Uh, I, I, you know,

187
00:11:29,620 --> 00:11:33,540
I kind of hate the framing <laugh> of the
whole thing now that I'm kind of maybe

188
00:11:33,560 --> 00:11:35,460
on the other side of it, you know,

189
00:11:35,460 --> 00:11:39,500
some of the things that I did were
not well constructed choices that I,

190
00:11:39,660 --> 00:11:42,460
I gave a lot of thought to.
It was just at the time,

191
00:11:43,230 --> 00:11:45,140
situations presented themselves.

192
00:11:45,450 --> 00:11:50,060
Like when I left Wall
Street in 2006, so I was 40,

193
00:11:50,980 --> 00:11:53,880
I didn't have a grant planned that
I was gonna leave Wall Street.

194
00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:57,800
It kind of gradually happened. I, my
kids were in first and fourth grade.

195
00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:00,880
I tried to get back to
working three days a week,

196
00:12:01,020 --> 00:12:02,880
but it was just something
that happened at work.

197
00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:04,640
When I went away on August vacation,

198
00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:07,320
I had a really bad experience
before I left for vacation.

199
00:12:07,620 --> 00:12:09,960
And when it came time to come
back, I was like, you know what,

200
00:12:10,140 --> 00:12:13,880
I'm not going back. So
it wasn't, in retrospect,

201
00:12:13,940 --> 00:12:16,520
the way I would do
things now in my fifties,

202
00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:18,400
it wasn't this well thought out plan.

203
00:12:18,830 --> 00:12:22,560
Sometimes you have to just believe in
those signs in life and go with it.

204
00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:25,280
I just have to say this truism also,

205
00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:27,560
being on the other side and
having raised two children,

206
00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:31,080
I think this is something
that all genders face,

207
00:12:31,300 --> 00:12:36,160
and I don't think there's a right or
wrong answer that fits all. You know,

208
00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:36,560
I,

209
00:12:36,560 --> 00:12:41,400
I think people who stay at home with
their kids really miss having worked each

210
00:12:41,430 --> 00:12:45,560
side has a view of how hard it
is for the other. And again,

211
00:12:45,560 --> 00:12:49,520
there's no right way. I always joke, like
when I stopped working on Wall Street,

212
00:12:49,660 --> 00:12:54,320
one of the things that I did is I got
involved with, with our local pta.

213
00:12:54,460 --> 00:12:57,920
And I always joke, if you think it's
hard being a Wall Street trader,

214
00:12:58,100 --> 00:13:01,000
you haven't volunteered
for the pta. Totally. Yeah.

215
00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:05,360
I think the grass is always greener on
the other side. Go with your gut. I,

216
00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:07,200
I think, you know, one thing for, we,

217
00:13:07,460 --> 00:13:10,520
we as women have really good gut instinct.

218
00:13:11,100 --> 00:13:15,440
Be patient and sit with things. Don't
replay things in your mind at night.

219
00:13:15,550 --> 00:13:19,400
Just sit with it and go with it
and just keep moving forward. I.

220
00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:23,800
Love that. But, you know, how would you,
uh, mentor or answer a question, um,

221
00:13:23,870 --> 00:13:28,440
that we're seeing come up more and more
that you're working in the workplace,

222
00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:33,320
you're a young woman, um, and you wanna
have conversations about policies and,

223
00:13:33,380 --> 00:13:35,600
and government today? Um, you know,

224
00:13:35,660 --> 00:13:39,080
how do you talk about progressive
policies in an appropriate workplace?

225
00:13:39,180 --> 00:13:42,080
And obviously the elephant in the room
that we're always talking about today is

226
00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:42,913
Roe versus Wade.

227
00:13:43,100 --> 00:13:46,880
How do we have tough conversations as
a young woman in corporate America?

228
00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:50,240
I guess I've been through it
all, and I would just say,

229
00:13:50,830 --> 00:13:53,960
this might not be what you
were wanting me to say,

230
00:13:54,300 --> 00:13:57,360
but it might be good to
leave that stuff at home,

231
00:13:57,910 --> 00:14:01,560
that there's like a place for
your passions and your politics.

232
00:14:02,180 --> 00:14:06,920
And those are at lunchtime on weekends

233
00:14:07,110 --> 00:14:11,400
with your friends at night, with
your Facebook pages, whatever it is.

234
00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:13,400
I, I think at work,

235
00:14:14,020 --> 00:14:17,360
and this might not even have been the
case 20 years ago when I was working,

236
00:14:17,460 --> 00:14:21,320
or 25 years ago, they, you know, we could
joke about it and people could like,

237
00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:25,720
gimme a hard time. So there are real
implications of politics at work,

238
00:14:25,740 --> 00:14:28,360
and I think now things
are just much worse.

239
00:14:28,740 --> 00:14:30,840
No, I think that's a
great perspective, Amy,

240
00:14:30,900 --> 00:14:34,320
and I appreciate you being honest
and vulnerable and saying maybe we,

241
00:14:34,490 --> 00:14:38,040
maybe we can't. So I think I had
the perfect last question for Amy.

242
00:14:38,460 --> 00:14:41,120
So I'm listening and maybe
I have a young daughter,

243
00:14:41,700 --> 00:14:46,640
or maybe I'm a younger listener, um,
and I'm thinking, I'd like to know,

244
00:14:46,820 --> 00:14:48,840
I'd like to hear why should I run? People.

245
00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:51,680
Like me don't wanna run
because of the system as it is,

246
00:14:52,060 --> 00:14:54,920
but that's exactly what's
wrong with the system, right?

247
00:14:55,340 --> 00:15:00,000
We attract people that have no ethics,
no scruples, that just care about power.

248
00:15:00,220 --> 00:15:01,440
The list is long. And listen,

249
00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:04,840
I have a lot of politicians in my
backyard and I've got to know them a lot.

250
00:15:04,900 --> 00:15:08,800
And unfortunately some of them are
great and a lot of them should not be in

251
00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:12,640
public office that really
are about their own fame, uh,

252
00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:16,560
about themselves and their social
media following or whatever else,

253
00:15:16,620 --> 00:15:18,800
and not about what's good
for their constituents.

254
00:15:19,540 --> 00:15:24,480
So when you find someone who is
just like good basic bread and

255
00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:27,880
butter politician, like Cherise
Davids the first time she ran,

256
00:15:27,970 --> 00:15:31,480
she's the first l g Bt q uh,

257
00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:34,960
member of Congress from
Kansas. She's Indian American,

258
00:15:35,130 --> 00:15:39,720
she's from a single mom home, came
from nothing, lifted herself up.

259
00:15:39,820 --> 00:15:43,600
I'd like to see more people like
Cherise, who really just does, you know,

260
00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:47,200
she doesn't get involved in the hubba,
you don't hear about her on social media.

261
00:15:47,530 --> 00:15:49,760
She's not on MSN b c every week.

262
00:15:50,100 --> 00:15:54,360
She goes back to Kansas and she meets
with her constituents and does the work.

263
00:15:54,870 --> 00:15:59,560
Real change comes in Washington
and real change comes

264
00:15:59,570 --> 00:16:03,120
local. And if you get into that career,

265
00:16:03,380 --> 00:16:06,000
you can have a real impact. Uh,

266
00:16:06,060 --> 00:16:10,000
if you surround yourself by women's
organizations, they will help you.

267
00:16:10,070 --> 00:16:11,360
They will have your back.

268
00:16:11,780 --> 00:16:14,560
But it's super important and
we've gone backwards here,

269
00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:19,280
our sideways that women's
voices are in the mix, uh,

270
00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:22,760
for all of the issues we
care about. So I'm somebody,

271
00:16:22,980 --> 00:16:27,400
if you do decide to get to politics,
reach out to me and I'm happy to help you.

272
00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:30,960
There are many groups of, you
know, that support women, uh,

273
00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:32,360
once they get into politics.

274
00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:37,680
I wanna end by really thanking you
and saying it's what's so amazing

275
00:16:37,900 --> 00:16:41,760
is that, um, you are acting
your exact, you know,

276
00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:44,520
model about giving back. And so, you know,

277
00:16:44,540 --> 00:16:48,840
you've done such an amazing job with
your followers and keeping us up to date.

278
00:16:48,850 --> 00:16:52,640
We're looking forward to hearing more
and learning more from you. You know,

279
00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:55,560
a million Thanks Amy for kicking
off our Women's History Month.

280
00:16:55,900 --> 00:16:57,480
Uh, I'll end with one closing thought.

281
00:16:57,520 --> 00:17:01,120
I know a lot of women have trepidation
of reaching out to people for help,

282
00:17:01,260 --> 00:17:03,720
but I really consider my
greatest accomplishments,

283
00:17:04,500 --> 00:17:09,440
the young woman and some young
men who, uh, have been my mentees,

284
00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:11,240
who have gone on to do great things,

285
00:17:11,460 --> 00:17:16,040
who still reach out to me when they're
not sure about this step or that step.

286
00:17:16,060 --> 00:17:20,440
And I have scores of mentees
now, maybe hundreds, uh, and,

287
00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:22,480
and watching them grow
and do great things.

288
00:17:22,900 --> 00:17:27,560
So just know that if you're reaching out
to someone to ask for them for an hour

289
00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:30,200
of their time, ask them
for coffee or whatever, or,

290
00:17:30,300 --> 00:17:35,000
or to speak with you on Zoom, that,
um, they get a lot out of it too.

291
00:17:35,220 --> 00:17:39,360
So avail yourself of, of, of
mentors, especially women mentors,

292
00:17:40,420 --> 00:17:44,760
uh, and ask for advice and ask for
help and stay in touch with them.

293
00:17:55,820 --> 00:17:59,160
So many great lessons. What
an amazing closing thought.

294
00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:04,560
Learning to ask for help. I know a lot
of us could use that reminder. Again,

295
00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:08,960
I wanna thank Amy for being so open and
willing to share as we kick off Women's

296
00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:09,793
History Month.

297
00:18:09,900 --> 00:18:14,400
I'm inviting you to take the entire month
into a journey about where we've been,

298
00:18:15,050 --> 00:18:18,840
where we are now, and where
we're going. Next episode,

299
00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:21,480
I will be talking to my
friend, rain Henderson,

300
00:18:21,870 --> 00:18:26,440
another woman I admire as she offers
her own version of what Women's History

301
00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:29,840
Month means to her. Until then, take care.

302
00:18:31,750 --> 00:18:35,120
This has been a production of
Balancing Life's Issues with your host,

303
00:18:35,120 --> 00:18:37,720
Wendy Wilner, produced
by me, Kai Sorenson.

304
00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:41,520
Subscribe to the podcast wherever you
listen and you'll get brand new episodes

305
00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:43,600
as they drop. Got an idea for the show.

306
00:18:43,690 --> 00:18:48,560
Leave a comment or email Kai k
a i balancing life's issues.com.