Politics

Pelosi: To Run For Office, Women Have To “Kick Open The Door”

Everyone knows you have to be aggressive to run for office, but according to House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi, you have to take it up a notch and “kick open the door.”

During a recent airing of Current TV, “The War Room” host Jennifer Granholm asked the seasoned politician how to encourage women to seek political office in this “extremely toxic environment…in D.C.” Upon applauding Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Pelosi said, “People don’t always see women in roles that relate to national security…but she makes us all very proud…Lifting women up nationally and domestically has been a high priority for her.”

Pelosi went on to say that money is an obstacle and that “poisoning” the debate makes it harder for women to engage in the political discussion, “I say to women ‘know your power.’ It’s a contribution only you can make, and while we value the work that our male colleagues bring to the table, the mix is very important, of women and minorities and young people and the rest. It is a decision that many of us have made to lift women up, but the fact is, it’s only been incremental, and I think we have to rid ourselves of incrementalism, kick open the door and say how do we do this in a very different way?”

Kicking down the door is different enough, so I hope Pelosi knows I’m going to take that piece of advice literally next time I want to move up at work. Thanks for the green light to make use of my kick boxing skills! There aren’t enough opportunities for that in the real world.

Watch Pelosi’s clip below:

TAGS: kick open the door | nancy pelosi

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