Miss Representation
Kentucky United Nations Assembly gives young men and women the opportunity to voice their ideas to try to change the world for the better. The seven presiding officers brilliantly executed organized and professional assemblies while also being role models to future KUNA leaders. Often people seek role models that they can relate to in some shape or form, be it a same favorite sports team, similar views or passions, or the same gender. Although all seven of (High School 2) KUNA’s presiding officers this year were phenomenal, aspiring female KUNA leaders want to see women holding some of these positions as well. Many proposals addressed the lack of representation around the world that women have in politics and composed solutions to this issue on a global scale.
In speaking with KYA’s Commonwealth Speaker of the House, Ashley Barnette, she provided a closer look at what it’s like running for a leadership position as a young woman. At first, when she began campaigning for a presiding officer position fall of 2017, she was intimidated and nervous, but through female Y staff members and other Y-role-models, she found her confidence and support system.
Although mainstream media tends to depict women as highly competitive against one another, Ashley’s experience with her female opponents was one of unconditional support and positivity. She stated that “all of us female candidates discussed amongst each other that we were all rooting for each other and it didn’t matter who won as long as we were well represented.” The ladies were united and helped campaign for one another which took away a lot of the stress from the election process and reassured them that no matter the outcome, their voices would be heard.
When asked why she believes that some people don’t feel comfortable voting for a female candidate, she responded: “there’s a stigma that we’re [women] seen better in the background, everyone wants to applaud a girl who stands beside a man but not one who stands in front of him.” She then went on to discuss the different kinds of language people use in describing each gender, such as the word “bossy,” which has a feminine connotation. People should be thoughtful in the words they use when critiquing a candidate or leader and be sure that gender should be excluded from someone’s leadership. Ashley then concluded the interview by proclaiming “problems with female leaders shouldn’t be related to them being women, but how successful they are at getting stuff done.”
