FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 23, 2005
Contact: Gloria Gavris
617-244-2004

Swiston and Healey speak at Boston College

Women in Politics

Boston College hosted an event on Tuesday evening featuring two Republican women in politics, Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey and local Newtonite, Greer Tan Swiston.

“I learned so much managing Greer's State Rep campaign last year,” said Doug Bush, a Junior at BC and one of the organizers of the event. “Lt. Gov. Healey and Greer Tan Swiston are such great role models, I was thrilled to have them come speak at BC.”

Women make up more than 50% of the American population yet in government, where the elected officials are supposed to represent the people, women make up less than 15% of both the U. S. House of Congress and US Senate. On average across all 50 states, women hold only 22.5% of State legislative seats and a whopping 25% of the Statewide Executive elective offices (down from a high of 27.6% back in 1999 and 2001). American society has made great strides over the past century, but there has been a concerning uniform slide in all areas of women's progress over the past 5 years.

Swiston cited Healey as being her role model and mentor. “It was an honor to be able to introduce the Lt. Gov. who has been such an inspiration to me over the past year,” said Swiston. “It was Kerry Healey who said to me, ‘if we don't run, how will the people ever have a chance to elect us?'”

Healey, in turn, commended Swiston for having the courage to step into the public limelight and again appealed to the audience to consider a role in public service. In her speech, Healey touched on topics ranging from the challenges of being a Republican in a Democrat dominated state to being a working parent of school aged children.

“I try not to think about being a woman in politics so much as just doing my job the best I can,” Healey said in her speech.

Healey is one of the few women currently holding a Statewide Executive elective office in the US .