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I'm standing in the booth and it's tight in here because it's only made for
one but we've squished four of us in.
I have my brother on one side.
And my twin sister on the other and my mom is standing behind me.
I'm too short to see what she is doing.
I'm only four years old anyway so I'm a little bit antsy.
>> [LAUGH] >> So I start ducking down beneath
the curtain to check out the feet and listen to the voices.
And I ducked down again and I pop up, and I ducked down for a third time and
then there's a bright flash.
Play it cool.
That had nothing to do with me.
But sure enough, when we walk out of the booth someone asks my mom for
my name and information.
I have been a political junkie for as long as I can remember, or
at least since my star turn in the local paper back in 1990.
>> [LAUGH] >> I was born and raised in New Hampshire,
home of the first in the nation presidential primary and
by middle school, I was writing letters to the editor on the issues of the day.
In high school, I was running for everything, student senate which I won.
>> [LAUGH] >> Homecoming queen, which I lost.
>> [LAUGH] >> But I was no shrinking violet.
And I fast forward four years later and it's my senior year and
I'm at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.
it's my spring semester and I'm in this awesome class, ten students.
Five versus five, all geared towards running a campus-wide election.
And my team knows my history and they look at me and they say, Val,
you have to run, you have to be our candidate.
You would be awesome.
And in that moment, I froze.
I was so afraid of putting myself out there, of being a bad candidate,
of losing, and so I said no, it's not for me.
I'm more of a behind the scenes type of person.
I guess that was something I'd internalized over the last four years.
You do it, Tom, you would be awesome.
You be our candidate.
And he was awesome, he ran and he won.
And I fast forward another month later and
I'm sitting in the area living room of my college president's house.
I'm there for a meeting with his wife, asking for
help to get down to Washington DC to work for a female senator.
She's a serious person.
She went on subsequently to be a cabinet secretary under President Obama.
And I'm staring at this oil painting in the corner of the room not because I care
about it, but because she's just asked me a question.
Val, would you ever consider running for public office?
No, i say, it's not for me.
I'm more of a behind the scenes type of person, like a chief of staff.
And she says, how can you say that?
You care so deeply about a woman being elected to office.
If not you, who?
I've been turning that question over in my mind for some time.
And I'm here today to challenge the paradigm that women like me, and women
like all of you are more behind the scenes type of people, not candidate material.
And to the men in the audience, don't worry, this is important for you too,
because we're all better served when more women run for office and
we have more diverse representation.
So what's the problem?
What's the big deal?
Well, in 2012, Congress held a hearing on the very
thorny issue of reproductive rights and contraceptives.
And to debate that issue they brought a panel of
experts to testify before the committee.
>> [LAUGH] >> And I don't care where you fall on
the spectrum, this cannot be the best way to talk about this issue.
We have to do better.
But let's level set, where are we?
We know that women make up roughly 47% of the workforce.
And we know that in recent years they received roughly 57% of college degrees.
But when we look across the country, women make up just 12% of
governor's offices and less than 20% of Congress.
That 20%, by the way, is an all-time high.
And it ties us with an unlikely friend and ally, Turkmenistan.
>> [LAUGH] >> So how did we get here?
We know that when women run they are as likely to win as their male counterparts.
And yet a 2004 Brown study found that men were 70% more likely
to indicate a desire to run for office.
And I suppose that's not all that surprising when you consider
another study, that said that a woman has to be asked
seven times before she considers running for office.
Most men need to be encouraged just one time.
>> [LAUGH] >> And
that encouragement can come from the face staring back at them in the mirror.
[LAUGH] >> I get it.
It's hard to run for office.
You're putting yourself out there, you're making yourself vulnerable.
It's messy and there's mudslinging.
And truthfully, I talked to a US congressman recently who told me that she
got nauseous every day on her first campaign just thinking about going out
there and getting herself out in front of voters.
But you are the women of the GSB.
You've never shied away from doing something hard.
If not you, who?
So I came to the GSB, and I had dozens of conversations with my male and
female classmates, and I said, I'm going to take it local.
I've had conversations with many of you in this room, I think, and I asked,
would you ever consider running for office?
And more often than not, our male classmates said, yeah,
I'm definitely considering it, 100%.
Or I haven't considered it, but I would be great.
>> [LAUGH] >> And on occasion, hell,
yes, I should be president.
What is the hold up?
>> [LAUGH] >> And more often than not,
our female classmate on the other hand responded with it's not for me.
I'm more of a behind the scenes type of person.
And so I dug a little bit deeper and I did a survey of close to 300 of our classmates
and I asked the same question, would you ever consider running for anything?
And the response was all too familiar.
Of our male classmates that responded, 77%,
all of you said yes, I will run for office someday, I hope to.
And the women, just 44% So why does it matter?
These issues that are being discussed in the political
arena are incredibly important.
We're talking about healthcare, education, the economy.
These are decisions that are going to impact to our lives, and
our children's lives, and our grandchildren's lives.
And you know what, when women run, they are really good at what they do.
Because studies have shown that they are two times as effective compared to their
male counterparts getting a bill out of committee and getting that bill enacted.
But when women don't run so many voices go unheard.
So what can we do?
We can run.
There are tons of resources out there to help you be successful,
dozens in California alone.
And I'm standing up here offering to be a resource for you as well.
I spent close to five years working in Congress before I came to the GSB.
I've been up close and personal.
I promise, you are all qualified to serve in Congress.
>> [LAUGH] >> Trust me.
And I'm here taking my own advice
because now I can answer yes, I an considering a run for office.
I hope I will have the opportunity to serve at some point in the future.
I've come a long way from that college senior.
I challenge all of you to do the same.
And today I want you to take a meaningful step in that direction.
If you've counted yourself out, ask yourself why or why not you.
If you've never considered it, consider it.
And if you're thinking about it at all, let's talk.
I have a really long history with elections.
To everybody in the room, including the men, if you've thought long and
hard about running for office and ultimately decided it's not for
you, I hope you will identify,
encourage, support, and work for a really good female candidate.
You are the student's of the GSB.
You are the best and the brightest, the most highly educated,
the most well connected.
You are the future of this country.
If not you, who?
Thank you.
>> [APPLAUSE]
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