I have been studying womenโs political behavior since the early 1970s and first identified the gender gap in 1980 with the help of legendary pollster Louis Harris.
Eleanor SmealI've known Carolyn [Maloney] for years, by the way. I knew her when she was on the City Council and knew her when she was - when she was running, and we endorsed her very early when she ran for Congress, yet I didn't know some of the stories in here of herself and her struggle, and - and she makes a very - you know, it's - it pulls your heart as well as - but it's very practical.
Eleanor SmealSince the 1950s (until the early 1990s), girls in Kabul and other cities attended schools. Half of university students were women, and women made up 40 percent of Afghanistanโs doctors, 70 percent of its teachers and 30 percent of its civil servants. A small number of women even held important political posts as members of Parliament and judges. Most women did not wear the burqa.
Eleanor SmealI'm not going to say that all the cabinet appointments of the men and women, you know, obviously we might have some reservations on some, but the women's movement has congratulated them for some of the appointments and is urging and encouraging more women in the Executive Branch and high areas.
Eleanor SmealCarolyn Maloney has extensive - she's shown over and over again her creativity, her determination, her tenacity in fighting for women's rights. She has passed a host of bills in many different areas, both national and global, with both national and global importance for women, and she's on a Chair of Finance Committee so essentially in this economic crisis, we thought she would be perfect.
Eleanor Smeal