Women in Public Leadership

Fall 2012

Instructor: Rebecca Sive

Course Details

Dates: October 10, 17, 24, November 7
Time: 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Location: 224

The course will be taught by Rebecca Sive, author of the forthcoming Chicago Review Press book, EVERY DAY IS ELECTION DAY: A Woman’s Guide to Winning Any Office with Joy, Confidence, and No Apologies, to be published in the United States and Canada in 2013.

Sive writes about women in government, politics and public leadership for RH Reality Checkand The Huffington Postand is an invited contributor to Politico, The Root and MariaShriver.com. Her writing has been extensively picked-up by other national and international publications. See here for a selected list: http://www.rebeccasive.com.

 Listed in Feminists Who Changed America, (University of Illinois Press), Sive has been an advocate and spokesperson for numerous national and local women’s organizations, including the National Women’s Political Caucus, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Society for the Advancement of Women’s Health Research, YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago, Eleanor Foundation and Women Employed.

Sive was a commissioner of the Chicago Park District, an independent unit of Illinois government and a member of the Illinois Human Rights Commission, among other political appointments. Rebecca is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Outstanding Community Leadership Award from the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago and The Chicago Urban League Woman of Distinction Award. She holds a B.A. in Urban Studies, from Carleton College, from which she received the Distinguished Achievement Award, and an M.A. in American History from the University of Illinois, from which she also received a distinguished achievement award.

Course Overview

Women’s political and public leadership is at the forefront of public discussion this fall since more women are running for Congress than at any other time in American history, and the women’s vote will be decisive in the 2012 presidential election (the day before our last class meeting).

Women are also increasingly seeking, and holding, appointive office, both full and part-time, and in all kinds of governments. Last, while there is still a significant gender gap in the number of women versus men in senior positions in public interest organizations, women are increasingly moving up in the ranks. 

The course will explore the personal considerations at-hand for women interested in leadership positions in government or public policy organizations (whether elected or appointed), as well as the public factors that are important to consider and evaluate while pursuing those leadership roles.

Course activities will include readings, lectures, presentation(s) by women who hold significant public leadership positions, and an opportunity to meet with a public leader, interview her, and share findings in the class setting.

The goal of the course is to give you a distinct sense of what is at-play today when women are choosing public leadership roles in a rewarding, but also fractious cultural, policy and political environment in which professional training and skill at executing the task-at-hand isn’t sufficient to notable success and recognition, but the success and recognition are still well worth seeking! 

Session One (10/10): Overview of topic, including:

• Presentation by me re facts, themes and issues in American women's public leadership
• Self-introduction of each student re her/his interest in the topic: What is that interest, and why is that it?
• Discussion among the students, led by me and focused on honing-in on the key issues the group wants to consider when in the interview process; re latter, see below. 

Session Two (10/17): The actual experience of being a public leader: ups, downs, and all-around     

• Brief overview by me, focusing on the thematic issues women public leaders experience
• Introduction of guest speaker
• Presentation by guest speaker
• Discussion among speaker and students, facilitated by me and honing-in on other issues, they wish to take-up in their respective interviews (they will do these in a buddy system).

Session Three (10/24):Review and discussion of interview project, including: 

• Overview by me re how to conduct the interview; identify the right follow-up questions in the course of the interview; and how to assemble and assess material subsequently
• Discussion among students and with me, in which questions answered/discussed, etc.
• Buddy selection
• Each buddy team selects person to interview. This will be by lot.
• Discussion by each buddy partnership re how it will proceed
• Final discussion of any questions generated by buddies’ discussion

Session Four (11/7): Final class meeting and discussion, including:    

• Overview by me re: what happened last night re women(!), including who, where, why, and thematic/substantive implications of respective victories (and defeats)
• Discussion among the students re what they observed last night, and what they conclude from those observations
• Presentation by each buddy partnership of two-three main findings from the interview it did
• Final discussion of ideas generated from the interviews, Election Day, and class as-a-whole