Editorial: Politics should include a little more parental guidance
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This month, Westmoreland County Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher will take on a new role with a constituency of one — her about-to-be-born first child.
Thrasher is one of a growing number of women in politics — especially women actively building their careers and their families at the same time.
In 2018, the number of women in Congress took a large jump in an election lauded as all about women. It wasn’t a one-time thing.
In 2020, the number in Pennsylvania state politics took a leap, too. In 1977, the Pennsylvania General Assembly had just 4% female membership. Today, women make up almost a third of the Legislature, which is definitely progress in a state with 50.6% female population.
This year’s election boosted even more women into top seats. That means pregnancy is a fact of life in the halls of power. Thrasher joins a growing group, including governors and lawmakers, who have given birth while in office.
This can bring a different perspective to the way issues could be considered or what topics are noted as important. One reason maternity leave might not be as much of a priority in the United States as it is in many other countries could be that most of the people making laws about it never needed it.
But let’s be careful about saying parenting and politics rarely overlap. Every U.S. president either had biological children, stepchildren, adopted children or was noted as raising other relatives or wards. Even Pennsylvania’s James Buchanan, who was unmarried, was the legal guardian of his niece, Harriet Lane, who became his acting first lady.
Can anyone forget the image of John F. Kennedy Jr. playing under his father’s Oval Office desk?
When we say women in politics like Thrasher are now bringing parenting into the picture, it can do two things. First, it can absolve men of any responsibility to think like parents. That’s unfair to their constituents. Second, it gives all of us leave to think of the women only as parents.
We need everyone who is thinking about economy, education, safety and all of the other issues that cross a politician’s desk to think about those vital topics like a parent. What would make today better for their kids and our kids? What would make tomorrow a better time to grow families?
A parent is a custodian. A nurturer. A caregiver. Those are all words that should apply to everyone voted into office. Do they? Not always. But they should.