Background:

The Missouri ERA PAC has been working in coalition with mainstream women's groups to encourage like-minded progressive women to run for office.

We have been working with the Missouri Women’s Leadership Coalition (MWLC), American Association of University Women (AAUW), Business and Professional Women (BPW), Missouri Women's Network (MWN), Missourians for Choice, the Greater Kansas City Women's Political Caucus, and the National Organization for Women (NOW).

Our goal is to energize the women in Missouri to take an active role in Missouri's politics and government. We want to educate Missouri women about running for office, working in political campaigns, and recruiting women to run.

We want to concentrate on smaller communities and rural areas where women are especially under-represented in public office, and resources for campaign training are scarce. While groups like the Women's Political Caucus and the Sue Shear Institute are active in Kansas City and St. Louis, women in small towns and rural areas have less support for political ambitions.

What have we learned?

We have learned two principle lessons about women and politics:

· Women need to feel almost over-qualified to run for an office, and are hesitant to take a leap or skip a level. Unlike men, they seem to feel more comfortable starting in the political “mail room.”

· Most women will not run for office unless they are asked.

What did we conclude?

We believe we need to hand women plenty of advice and details about how to run and win, match them with mentors, and strive to get as many women in the political pipeline as possible if we ever want to achieve political equity.

What is our strategy?

We are working to form local affiliate groups we call “Kitchen Cabinets” to work actively within their home communities throughout Missouri, to educate and inspire progressive women they know to run at all levels of government—especially the state legislature.  If there is an existing progressive organization working for women’s rights, we work together in coalition with those groups that are already active in their community.

How Kitchen Cabinets work:

We picture women sitting around a table, drinking coffee, learning about how to run for office and strategizing about women in their community who would be great at setting public policy.

· Kitchen Cabinets track what offices are open in their communities or region, filing dates, and likely candidates. The group brainstorms about potential female candidates. Our goal is to have pro-ERA, pro-choice women running at every level in every county of Missouri. (Did you know that there is a three-state strategy to finally ratify the Equal Rights Amendment and that Missouri is considered one of four likely states?)

· The Kitchen Cabinet groups ASK and INSPIRE the women they think highly of to consider running for office.

· The Kitchen Cabinets work with in coalition with other organizations such as MWLC to EDUCATE progressive women candidates.

· The Kitchen Cabinets SCREEN and ENDORSE candidates in their districts.

· The Kitchen Cabinets WORK for identified candidates to raise money, and volunteer on their campaign staffs.

The Kitchen Cabinets may not:

· Act in a partisan fashion.

How does the Missouri ERA PAC work with the local affiliated groups?

The Missouri ERA PAC works with local affiliate groups in a variety of ways, including:

· Meeting with a local Cabinet to get them started, or as requested to offer expertise.

· Provides speakers for special meetings and public events sponsored by the Kitchen Cabinet.

· Provides candidate training seminars throughout Missouri.

· Provides a mentor for your candidates to help develop a winning campaign plan and campaign strategies.

· Provides periodic campaign assessments and advice for candidates.

· Assists with fundraising for candidates through the PAC and statewide supporters.

· Matches your Kitchen Cabinet group with a local woman politician to meet with the group periodically and act as a group mentor and coach.