As women have played an increasingly important role in politics, there is no question that they've brought a different perspective, focusing attention on a broader set of issues and building alliances with other women.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I really want women to know their power, to value their experience. To understand that nothing has been more wholesome in the political process than the increased involvement of women.
We are bringing women into politics to change the nature of politics, to change the vision, to change the institutions. Women are not wedded to the policies of the past. We didn't craft them. They didn't let us.
Women are not only deciding the outcome of elections, they serve as important role models for their daughters and other young women - they hold a key to expanding the way in which women value and experience politics.
Politics is a potent way to empower women.
Politics need to stop treating women as a special-interest group.
Women are tough campaigners. They certainly know how to withstand attacks. And I think we make a mistake if we say, as some do, that women should play by different rules, or that they are somehow especially vulnerable to the rules of politics. I don't think that's true.
I think the Women's movement has had a major impact on everybody's lives in our nation and in the world as a whole.
Women's particular experiences continue to shape not just their points of view but their actions, in the United States and around the world.
As women politicians, we talk about the most difficult themes of state security, foreign relations and development models, then ask, 'How do you make it work with your husband?' The interesting thing is that these women - most of them - don't lose the perspective that the focus is not the position but the job at hand.
I've always championed women in politics. We just get stuck in; politics isn't a game. The decisions we make affect people's lives, and that is something we must all keep to the forefront of our minds.