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It has been nearly 18 years since a woman was student body president at the University of Cincinnati — a statistic which has inspired a number of Cincinnati women to host “Elect Her” this coming Saturday.

Those hosting the event hope that they will boost the confidence
and provide inspiration for women all around the Tri-State area.

“This year, our mission is to train college women to run for campus-based elective office,” said Luci Simon, Student Government’s senator at-large. “The goal is to build a greater pipeline of women running for office in order to diminish the long-standing political leadership gender gap.”

The statistics regarding female Ohio politicians are alarming, making Elect Her even timelier, Simon said, explaining that Ohio has never had a woman serve in the United States Senate, and the state’s only female governor served a mere 11 days.
Elect Her is also applicable to the UC student body, she said.

“The amount of time that has passed since a woman was president of our student body is unacceptable,” Simon said. “Every woman on this campus has seen something that needs or has noted an issue that needs to be addressed. Every woman has the ability to take action and fix things. The Elect Her conference will offer tools for women
to help them to get to a place where they can carry out change.”

The women hosting Elect Her hope those who attend are inspired to become politically involved within their communities as well as their universities.

“Anyone who has ever wanted change, but felt that they weren’t good enough or tough enough can leave this conference with the skills, tools and the confidence to run for office,” Simon said.
US Rep. Jean Schmidt, Ohio Rep. Denise Driehaus and Cincinnati Council member Yvette Simpson will speak at the conference, which is open to women students from both UC and Xavier University.

The event will also feature a panel of of elected officials who have the experience of deciding to run, with the process of running, and serving in elected positions, and they provide the attendees with all the wisdom and advice they can offer.

“Women who are naturally interested in running for leadership positions are the vast minority of our minority,” Simon said. “As women, we feel that we will be much better behind the scenes or in lower positions, or are just not confident in our ability to take top positions — which is why the event is important.”

Even if a woman doesn’t necessarily feel inclined to run for an elected position, there is still a place for her at Elect Her, Simon said.

“We really want to have as many women as possible,” Simon said. “If they come for the food, but end up running for a position after hearing the speakers, that’s fine by me.”