Women Discuss Public Life

Capitol Hill veterans Marguerite Sullivan, former chief of staff to Marilyn Quayle, and Ann Simpson, wife of former Senator Alan Simpson (R-WY), spoke about juggling the demands of motherhood and political life yesterday in panel discussion entitled, "Tough Choices: Personal Perspectives from Women in the Public Life."

Sullivan, who spent 25 years working in Washington as both a journalist and political aide, said the pressures of life within the Beltway takes a toll on women with young children, especially when both parents work. Politicians have little say over when their events and caucuses take place, she said.

"[Washington] is a city that you do not go to live in, but to work in," Sullivan said. "It's a treadmill. When your kid has an event, the spouse calls the scheduler."

Sullivan concluded that it was ideal if one spouse had more built-in flexibility to his schedule, whether it be the wife or the husband.

Simpson concurred, saying, "It's hard when you're a member of Congress, you are campaigning continuously. You have to be very disciplined with your family life and make it a priority, so that your staff doesn't work you into the ground. Your staff wants you to be famous, so that they are working for a famous person."

Both Sullivan and Simpson said they have witnessed the role of women in politics change dramatically in the past quarter century.

When Sullivan first arrived in Washington two decades ago as a reporter for the San Diego-based Copley newspapers, each news bureau had one token woman on staff, she said.

"My first story was to profile the six congressional women," Sullivan said. "Now, next month, there will be 56 women in Congress." However, Sullivan observed that the number of females on high-level staff has not increased significantly.

After speaking about their personal experiences, Sullivan and Simpson fielded questions from the audience of approximately 30 members who gathered in Ticknor Lounge in Boylston Hall.

Topics of inquiry included the effects of early marriage on political careers, the impeachment hearings, and the retroactive backlash of the women's movement.

"I was really pleased with the turnout and excited that people are interested with issues such as these, "said Hannah Chor '01, a panel discussion organizer.

Before exiting, Sullivan spoke further to individual audience members on the backlash against feminism.

"A while back, women went to college to get the 'MRS degree,' and then there was this time when the whole superwoman ideal took over," Sullivan said.

"Now, I hope the pendulum hasn't swung back all the way to the days of the 'MRS degree.' Rather, I think that people should realize that families are very important and go on to achieve a balance," she said.