Fattah's release of his "women's agenda" gives me, the distaff member of our blogging team, the chance to pontificate on something that I care about.
One of the things that I find most revealing about political leaders is the people around them, particularly the people who are different from the leader -- different gender, different race, etc. Since most of our political leaders are men, I am interested in the women around them in particular.
Are the women strong, independent people in roles where their voices are heard? Do they get a chance to challenge and question the leader?
Personally, I like leaders who are willing to be challenged, and who see people who are different -- yes, particularly women -- as opportunities to learn something, not threats to power.
And one thing you have to admit about our current mayor -- whether you like his politics and his administration or not -- is that he had no problem surrounding himself with strong women. At one point, Street had more women in his cabinet than men. (This idea isn't original to me; I was highly influenced by Daily News columnist Jill Porter in this belief.)
I'll be watching for who the next mayor surrounds himself with as well -- and yes, I do care how many of them are women, and how many of them are of a different ethnic background, and if any of them are outsiders to government.
So what does that have to do with Fattah's women's agenda?
The agenda -- which is remarkably broad, ranging from domestic violence to parenting to equal pay -- does make two commitments that concern my point above. One, Fattah commits "to ensuring women are well-represented in his government by appointing women to senior policy-making positions from Cabinet posts to departmental directors and senior aides."
Two, he commits to increasing the percentage of contracts awarded to women-owned businesses from its current level -- around 6 percent -- to 15% by the end of his first term.
The first of these promises speaks to my interest in who would surround Fattah if he becomes mayor. And the second would help grow another level of women leaders throughout the city, which would mean that later male leaders would have the chance to also hire impressive women as well.