A Woman's World: Women in Politics

Listen up, Young Women of America! If you have a mind to, get involved in politics, and do it now--your community/state/country needs you! That's the impassioned message of this well-produced tape, intended to be shown to high school and college-aged young people. Hosted by Patricia Durante, the video introduces four Congresswomen (Connie Morella, Loretta Sanchez, Nancy Johnson, and Blanche Lincoln) and a host of state and local elected women who tell us how they got involved in politics, what issues they work on (not just "women's" issues, it turns out), and why more women need to join their ranks. The tone is definitely motivational and inspirational, and a decent number of ideas are offered for becoming actively engaged in the political process, ranging from just flat-out voting to working on someone's campaign to running for office yourself. I would have liked more concrete information on just how to go about doing those things: the film tries so hard to be multi-partisan it does not mention any agencies or organizations where young women might turn to find out how to vote, volunteer, or run. Despite this (and the tape's intrusive, too-upbeat music), I have to highly recommend A Woman's World for its stirring-yet-realistic call to arms and thoughtful presentation of the opportunities available to young American women. An excellent complement to earlier titles, such as See Jane Run: How Women Get Elected (VL-9/96). Aud: H, C, P. (K. Glaser)