[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
political engagement is that levels not
seen since the 60s people are calling
marching emailing in unprecedented
numbers women especially are finding
their voice which is great because women
are behind and need to catch up we vote
in higher numbers in elections but did
you know that each year two million
fewer women than men contact Congress
what does that tell our reps that we
don’t care when it comes to having a say
on the issues we do care about we have
not remotely reached equality we are
vastly underrepresented in office and
our voices are not being heard but times
are changing women’s voices are rising
up it’s exciting to see I’m sure many of
you have acted or know someone who has
or you’re thinking about it like me
you’re excited about it motivated full
of energy because you believe that this
activism is working but I have news for
you it’s not it’s not working as
effectively or powerfully as it could
why you wonder overworked staffers
here’s a fact over 10,000 bills are
introduced each session of Congress
about a thousand of them are voted on
how many have you heard about one five
guess what you’ve missed 995 bills when
we focus on the 15 minutes of fame bills
we go all out we call we march we sign
petitions we join activist groups we
attend town hall meetings and then we
never hear back when we fight these 15
minutes of fame bills all of that energy
is not sustainable and it’s not scalable
because it’s tiring
and it takes a lot of time and here’s
another truth about politics you may not
know your reps don’t hear most of what
you say their staffers do individuals in
their 20s who answer the phones they are
the ones who have your representatives
ear they are the ones you need to
contact and they are the ones who are
overwhelmed ready to shut down I was a
staffer I know here’s the scenario you
go to work you have your hands full you
answer phone calls from constituents you
have issues that you cover like health
care or foreign policy so you go to
meetings and hearings on those issues
you meet with constituents when they
come to the office you update your boss
with any free time that you have but
really there’s not a moment of free time
but it’s exciting work you feel good
about this motivated that you’re making
a difference then millions of people get
motivated to call now you have to answer
hundreds of calls a minute but that’s
impossible what happens to all the
unanswered phone calls they simply went
unheard so your voices your concerns
they never reach the staffer let alone
your representative how can we actually
have our voices heard how can you have
your concerns heard how can you keep
your representative accountable for
their votes and how can we especially as
women create change by creating a new
and powerful online bridge connecting
representatives to their constituents
[Applause]
by creating these more open lines of
communication we will then be engaged
and be able to have an impact like we’ve
never had before and the good news is
Congress has evolved to communicate in
the ways that people are used to they
used to be stuck in 20th century’s
century ways but now they’ve kind of
come along to the front 21st century so
here’s an analogy now we can go to a
restaurant and order food that way we
can pick up the phone and then go pick
it up or we can do it online just
because I order my food online doesn’t
mean that I care any less about it
tasting good and just because I contact
my Rapala online doesn’t mean that I
care any less and eighty-eight percent
of staffers say that online
communication does influence their
bosses decisions
so let’s fast-forward to the future
imagine if all 200 million registered
voters the same number as Facebook users
today in the US spent just five minutes
a day checking their legislative bill
status it would be total engagement
that’s powerful that’s the new online
bridge of equality and it already exists
today representation should not be a
privilege it’s our democratic right will
you join me the next time you’re in
social media take just a few more
minutes to make a difference and contact
your rep on line thank you
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
political engagement is that levels not
seen since the 60s people are calling
marching emailing in unprecedented
numbers women especially are finding
their voice which is great because women
are behind and need to catch up we vote
in higher numbers in elections but did
you know that each year two million
fewer women than men contact Congress
what does that tell our reps that we
don’t care when it comes to having a say
on the issues we do care about we have
not remotely reached equality we are
vastly underrepresented in office and
our voices are not being heard but times
are changing women’s voices are rising
up it’s exciting to see I’m sure many of
you have acted or know someone who has
or you’re thinking about it like me
you’re excited about it motivated full
of energy because you believe that this
activism is working but I have news for
you it’s not it’s not working as
effectively or powerfully as it could
why you wonder overworked staffers
here’s a fact over 10,000 bills are
introduced each session of Congress
about a thousand of them are voted on
how many have you heard about one five
guess what you’ve missed 995 bills when
we focus on the 15 minutes of fame bills
we go all out we call we march we sign
petitions we join activist groups we
attend town hall meetings and then we
never hear back when we fight these 15
minutes of fame bills all of that energy
is not sustainable and it’s not scalable
because it’s tiring
and it takes a lot of time and here’s
another truth about politics you may not
know your reps don’t hear most of what
you say their staffers do individuals in
their 20s who answer the phones they are
the ones who have your representatives
ear they are the ones you need to
contact and they are the ones who are
overwhelmed ready to shut down I was a
staffer I know here’s the scenario you
go to work you have your hands full you
answer phone calls from constituents you
have issues that you cover like health
care or foreign policy so you go to
meetings and hearings on those issues
you meet with constituents when they
come to the office you update your boss
with any free time that you have but
really there’s not a moment of free time
but it’s exciting work you feel good
about this motivated that you’re making
a difference then millions of people get
motivated to call now you have to answer
hundreds of calls a minute but that’s
impossible what happens to all the
unanswered phone calls they simply went
unheard so your voices your concerns
they never reach the staffer let alone
your representative how can we actually
have our voices heard how can you have
your concerns heard how can you keep
your representative accountable for
their votes and how can we especially as
women create change by creating a new
and powerful online bridge connecting
representatives to their constituents
[Applause]
by creating these more open lines of
communication we will then be engaged
and be able to have an impact like we’ve
never had before and the good news is
Congress has evolved to communicate in
the ways that people are used to they
used to be stuck in 20th century’s
century ways but now they’ve kind of
come along to the front 21st century so
here’s an analogy now we can go to a
restaurant and order food that way we
can pick up the phone and then go pick
it up or we can do it online just
because I order my food online doesn’t
mean that I care any less about it
tasting good and just because I contact
my Rapala online doesn’t mean that I
care any less and eighty-eight percent
of staffers say that online
communication does influence their
bosses decisions
so let’s fast-forward to the future
imagine if all 200 million registered
voters the same number as Facebook users
today in the US spent just five minutes
a day checking their legislative bill
status it would be total engagement
that’s powerful that’s the new online
bridge of equality and it already exists
today representation should not be a
privilege it’s our democratic right will
you join me the next time you’re in
social media take just a few more
minutes to make a difference and contact
your rep on line thank you
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
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