If Hillary Clinton wins the presidency, she plans to model gender equality by giving women equal representation in the Cabinet.
The New York Times announced this news, which is supported by interviews with the Democratic presidential nominee’s close advisors and friends. Historically, women have only comprised a quarter to a third of the Cabinet.
Clinton moreover plans to jettison the conventionally masculine trend of talking shop over sports, preferring instead to converse casually over drinks. From the Times:
“Mrs. Clinton’s ability to use alcohol as a political lubricant came up repeatedly when allies and advisers were asked how she might work with Republicans. Her tale about a drinking contest with Senator John McCain of Arizona is now a Washington legend. (She said they called it quits before things got out of hand.) She believes a relaxed, frank discussion is more authentic than trying to bond awkwardly with adversaries over sports — and more productive than keeping them at arm’s length, as Mr. Obama has often done.
‘She likes to cajole, she likes to make deals, and she likes to make friends,’ said Richard Socarides, a former policy adviser to Bill Clinton and a longtime supporter of Mrs. Clinton. ‘And she knows it’s much harder to go after someone who you basically like, who you’ve had a drink with.’”
As she eyes potential advisers, Clinton looks not just to Wall Street, but to Silicon Valley — Sheryl Sandberg from Facebook perhaps, or Tim Cook from Apple. Cook would be the first openly gay Cabinet Secretary.
Jennifer Granholm, former Democratic governor of Michigan and Clinton supporter, remarks to the Times, “There’s an old saying, ‘Nothing about us without us…I mean, a woman as chief of staff, Treasury secretary, a woman at Defense — it would be incredible.”
Image via Getty.
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