Southern Indiana Business July-August 2020 | Page 31

“I think the platform on either side,
the parties realize the importance of the
women’s vote and the women’s voice,”
said Floyd County Clerk Danita Burks, a
Republican.
Burks said she didn’t feel like she was
treated differently during her election campaign
because she was a woman, but she
added she was running against another
woman.
Burks recalled several teachers who
inspired her involvement in politics, and
said she loves her job.
“I ran for office because I care about our
community,” she said.
But while women comprise the majority
of the electorate and the population, more
men hold public office.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done,”
Dickey said.
Following the midterm election in 2018,
a record number of women were seated in
Congress. But the 102 women serving in
the U.S. House still accounted for only
23.4% of the total. In a sign of a possible
trend, 35 of those women won election for
the first time in 2018.
In terms of leadership, House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi is the first woman to hold that
position.
Twenty-six women served as senators as
of January, which is also a record.
Still, the country has yet to elect a
woman president. Locally, Jennie Collier
is the only woman on the nine-person
New Albany City Council. There are no
women on the Jeffersonville City Council
or the Floyd County Commissioners. Connie
Sellers is the lone woman for the Clark
County Commissioners.
As November approaches and the U.S.
electorate prepares to select the next
president, among other offices, Wrzenski
believes issues central to women voters
will be a reflection of what the nominees
choose to focus on coupled with the mood
of the country based on current events.
“That said, I think women will be chiefly
focused on the economy and income
inequality as we come into the general
election,” she said. “Women may also be
reflecting on health care programs like
CHIP and Medicare to a greater extent
given the situation with COVID-19.”
July / August 2020
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