This post was written by Hatchet Reporter Meredith Roaten.
Ellen Malcolm, a 1984 alumna and founder of the political action committee EMILY’s List, found herself back at GW Wednesday night when she was interviewed by Danny Hayes, an associate professor of political science.
“Since 1985 when EMILY’s List was founded, the organization has raised and spent over four million dollars to help elect pro-choice, Democratic women, and has had an unparalleled role in increasing the number of women in US congress and in elected offices across the country,” Hayes said.
The EMILY in EMILY’s List is not a name, but an acronym that stands for Early Money Is Like Yeast – which makes the dough rise – referring to Malcolm’s innovative fundraising technique for her foundation. The organization has contributed to the victories of many campaigns since its founding, including the first Democratic women to be elected to the senate in her own right, Barbara Mikulski, and presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s past senatorial campaigns.
Malcolm’s book, “When Women Rise: EMILY’s List and the Rise of Women in American Politics” framed the conversation, but Malcolm also touched on current political issues during a Q&A session.
Here are some of the highlights:
1. Wearing the pants
Malcolm said that her extreme Republican upbringing did not reflect her political views later in life.
“My grandmother once told me Herbert Hoover solved the Great Depression and Franklin Roosevelt took all the credit for it,” Malcolm said.
Malcolm said she didn’t become a political activist until her undergraduate education at Hollins University, where a friend extremely active in the anti-Vietnam War movement persuaded her to become involved.
And there was the “dress code incident”: When she was an undergraduate, the students at the women’s college were not allowed to wear pants to class or in the dining room, until Malcolm and a group of friends demanded that the rules change. Malcolm said it was one of her first successes in her extensive history of enacting political change.
“You have to start somewhere, I guess,” Malcolm said jokingly.
2. Changing the system
Malcolm said that she and many members of her rebellious generation channeled their frustration with the status quo into political action.
“Some people went and they said, ‘I’m gonna drop out and live on a commune.’ Others of us said, I want change the system and go inside and see if I can make the country better,” Malcolm said.
Malcolm said that at the time, women had a difficult time being perceived as credible because they lacked the same money as establishment politicians but not the support or political prowess. To combat this barrier, Malcolm and the founders of EMILY’s List decided that Democratic voters had the right to know about the Democratic, pro-choice women who had a chance of winning, and concluded that they could educate and fundraise for the these candidates at the same time.
3. Ambition
During the Q&A portion of the talk, Malcolm was asked about the current elections and the future of the country. She said that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is a person that cares about other people and wants to change the policies of the U.S. to better reflect a society where women have entered the workplace.
“I really think Hillary Clinton will be a phenomenal president of this country,” Malcolm said.
Malcolm said that the best way to help Clinton’s candidacy was to say something nice about her, which will contradict media outlets that say she is not a well-liked candidate.
“People have said to me, well she’s too ambitious,” Malcolm said. “Well, any man that’s running for the president of the United States is very ambitious.”
Malcolm added that not all gender bias is out of the political election, especially the current one. But she said that with each new level of office that women reach, the stereotypical doubts and barriers lessen.
