Media

The Chicago Tribune’s Heidi Stevens wrote an evergreen, incredibly inspirational review of Vote Her In. (I refer to it as often as needed!)

Click the image above to watch the interview.

I was honored to be included in this 2020 women’s history calendar.

It was fun to read this item in the @Politico column by @ShiaKapos on the first anniversary of the #VoteHerIn podcast: — “Author Rebecca Sive’s #VoteHerIn podcast, which examines efforts to elect more women, marks its one-year anniversary. The show has featured interviews with POTUS candidates Amy Klobuchar and Kirsten Gillibrand, Illinois Deputy Gov. Sol Flores, City Clerk Anna Valencia, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, and former Ambassador Ertharin Cousin. Anniversary show here.”

CHICAGO magazine writes the case for Vote Her In here. Here is another favorite review: “Want a woman to be president? then, you must get this guide,” by the remarkable @DHStokyo. Here, I checked-in on the state of the campaign for POTUS as the New Year approached.

US Senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren answers a question from me about the importance of women running for office, because “that’s what girls do.”

In a special July 4th edition, Emmy-winning actor and media personality, Maya Contreras, interviews me for the Obscene podcast, on the campaign strategies of the Democratic women presidential candidates, and what to look for next.  

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On inauguration day for Chicago’s first African-American woman mayor, I joined the daily podcast for Crain’s Chicago Business here. I discussed the need for Chicago’s challenges to be addressed via a “gender lens,” as I advocated in this op-ed for Crain’s.

It is organizations like the National Women’s Law Center that built the climate in which women lawyers could successfully run for public office.

WGN Radio Steve Cochran’s show did a fun, as well as informative, segment on electing our first woman POTUS. “We’re ready” to do this, according to them. For Women’s History Month, I visited Steve and his team again: this time to discuss the historic Chicago mayor’s race, featuring two women. (start at approx. minute-48)

Then, on Election Day night, I joined Justin Kaufmann, the host of WGN’s Extension 720, and a host of other political junkies to share our take on an historic eve. (Here I am on the same night, beginning at 1:10, at NPR Chicago affiliate, WBEZ, discussing the race with Cheryl Corley, NPR reporter.) The week had begun with an interview on Signal Boost, the Jess McIntosh and Zerlina Maxwell Sirius show. Shortly after the election, I joined Paul Lisnek, host of Politics Tonight for CLTV and political commentator for WGN, to discuss what a #LoriLightfoot administration might seek to accomplish. I then joined WGN TV for live coverage of the inauguration of herstory-making Lori Lightfoot.   

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I join Mary Boyle, then producer of the Steve Cochran Show, at WGN.

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Emmy-award winning broadcaster, Maya Contreras, hosts the #ObscenePodcast, which featured a wide-ranging talk about women in politics with me. Here is the link to the interview. Here is a more recent interview with young women activists about the need to be engaged in politics and women’s advocacy.

The University of Chicago led its newsfeed of the day, on Election Day 2018, with a story featuring my comments on the importance of women in Congress. The next day,  Kate Baicker, dean of the Harris School of Public Policy, and I talked about #voteherin: what it would take to elect our first woman POTUS.

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Veteran Chicago Sun-Times political pundit, Laura Washington, wrote: “Laying out a road map to electing a first woman president.” And here’s more on that topic.

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In 1978, I wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times: “A turning point for women in Illinois politics.” The piece still rings true.  A WGN podcast with host Paul Lisnek, and a Girl Pundits podcast about Vote Her In, are on my Playlist.  I’ve also visited with Paul at WGN-TV a couple times, to discuss women, politics, and the presidency; and once on the Chicago mayor’s race. Here I am on the Start Me Up podcast with host, Kimberly Johnson. And one more podcast interview is here at The Power Station.

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Crain’s Chicago Business featured: Vote Her In, and the expression,”women’s rights,” above-the-fold, in an interview with me. 

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For those interested in the connection between art and politics, here is a video from a panel discussion I led, sponsored by the Weisman Art Museum.  

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Evanston Literary Festival partner, Take The Lead, published this story by Michele Weldon, on the importance of women leading. And here is the Northwestern University student newspaper on the importance of electing a woman POTUS, based on a talk I gave for the festival.The Daily Northwestern and the Chicago Tribune/Evanston Review both wrote about a book signing and talk at Bookends and Beginnings, a  program of the Evanston Literary Festival.  

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Modern Health Care published an in-depth editorial about women’s health and the role that the women Members of Congress play. I was pleased to be quoted: “A new day has dawned for so-called women’s issues. Every issue is a women’s issue, and the U.S. Congress is about to prove that.” 

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The YWCA Metropolitan Chicago produced a lovely FACEBOOK LIVE session on #VoteHerIn. See here. 

The Union League Club hosted a talk about #VoteHerIn with business leaders that covered a lot of ground about the importance of women in executive roles, whether in government, business, or philanthropy.

Fox News Chicago has covered women in politics assiduously for quite some time. Several times I spoke there about the importance of #VoteHerIn.

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“Take the lead: vote her in and get women in top office.” (appeared as an article in Medium and as an interview on the Take the Lead podcast.)

One #VoteHerIn project was speaking and training sessions in Southwest Michigan with my #GirlPolitics friends there. Some media, featuring Laura Goos, St. Joseph City Council member and mayor pro tem, is here. 

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Hitting Left, a podcast hosted by Mike and Fred Klonsky, features my fave approach to politics: always hit left!

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A wonderful review of Vote Her In at TheGreenEyeReader.

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Here is video from the Chicago launch of Vote Her In, hosted by the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago, and featuring special guests Cook County State’s Attorney, Kim Foxx, and Julia Stasch, President, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Speaking of ‘powerbrokers” like these women, here is an article about my advocacy, entitled: “Powerbroker.” And here is an interview with the Newsy cable network, which reaches tens of millions nationwide.

Below is a fave photo.

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POLITICO reporter Shia Kapos wrote about the fight for ERA ratification back in the day: “Rebecca Sive said [Carol] Burnett ‘was about the nicest, friendliest person I’ve ever met, in any context.’ After the ERA event, a public-relations executive for Burnett offered Sive a job. ‘I missed my chance at Hollywood!’ she said. Sive was an Illinois consultant to the National Women’s Political Caucus for the ERA ratification campaign. As part of that, Sive organized and promoted celebrities who traveled to Illinois to support the ERA ratification campaign. Burnett talks about the ERA movement in this video.” 

#GirlPolitics 2018 is here in this ABC piece about women running for office. Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and I had a great conversation. 

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2017 was a great year for #GirlPolitics. Here is my #HuffPost how-to published at the start of 2017. And here I am later in the year in Cosmopolitan, discussing the winning strategy of the first woman #POTUS. Alas, sometimes, it’s the “same old sexist nonsense.” And here is an op ed for Crain’s Chicago Business on the importance of electing women to executive positions.

For the Chicago Sun-Times: Shia Kapos captured the energy among 1,800 at the Chicago Foundation for Women annual luncheon. I was honored to moderate the conversation between social justice hero, Dolores Huerta, and Alicia Garza, a co-founder of #BlackLivesMatter. From Windy City Times: an overview of the luncheon.

From the Seattle Times: “Underneath, you have structural sexism, different criteria for being qualified, and then a different set of glasses for viewing (male versus female) candidates; some people just can’t wrap their minds around a woman at an executive level. What if it had been Ms. Trump and Mr. Clinton…”

From Cosmopolitan: “If she [#Amy Klobuchar] decides to run for the presidency, she will definitely be a force for the other candidates to contend with…”

The Girl Talk is a terrific podcast, which included a show about women running for office, “Women Run Illinois.” Around minute-25, I summarize the challenges, and opportunities for women.

Crain’s Chicago Business covers politics and women’s policy matters frequently. Here is an op ed I wrote on repealing #Obamacare, and the draconian impact that would have on women: “Women in Congress: we’re watching your vote.“

The Chicago Tribune has been covering the issue of women’s political engagement, running for office, and otherwise participating in the public square. Here is a lovely piece about some Chicago women candidates, in which I discuss the importance of their commitment.

Ace Daily Herald reporter Marie Wilson on: “why so few suburban mayors?” Among my comments are these: “Another reason, says author Sive, could be a bias toward women holding executive offices. ‘They’re the most difficult for women to achieve across politics, business and the philanthropic world. The higher up the institutional ladder you go, the fewer women there are,’ she said. “To break that barrier, Sive encourages women to run for elected office as soon as they feel they’re able. ‘Women typically wait longer than men to start their political careers, citing family, work and household responsibilities, which can limit their possibilities once they commit to running.'”

Again by Marie Wilson, the Daily Herald reported on the challenges for women candidates. Bottom line: when they run, they do as well as men do. And again: on the marvelous women running for office in suburban Chicago. My advice to them: “Parity is (an important) goal, but the shorter-term, I think more achievable goal, is to discuss how do we get enough women at the table that we we cannot be ignored?”

Two Broads Talk Politics, (some of my views are at the link here), is an enjoyable, as well as informative, podcast on #GirlPolitics. In this episode, I discuss Every Day Is Election Day: A Woman’s Guide.

Take the Lead published a story about a speech I gave to the Chicago chapter of the Association of Women Journalists, which it titled: Run For Your Life: How Women Leaders Can Make the Move to Election Day.

A Woman’s Guide to Winning Leadership was the title of a story about my work, and a podcast about Every Day Is Election Day, hosted by writer, Dr. Nancy O’Reilly.

Crain’s Chicago Business profiled #GirlPolitics superstar, Lori Lightfoot and her role in changing Chicago’s future. I comment on what it took.

WCIU You and Me began one day with a segment on tips for getting involved in your community, including running for office. The segment featured lessons from Every Day Is Election Day, along with photos of some of the book’s stars, including various Illinois women officials. (A shout-out to Melissa Forman and Dr. Ian Smith, who were such thoughtful and friendly hosts.)

I appeared again on WCIU, to discuss #ShePersisted and grass roots approaches to creating better neighborhoods and family futures everywhere.

WYCC’s In the Loop devoted a show to #breakingtheglassceiling, whether in business, politics, or one’s community. Here, I discuss.

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#POTUS2016 WAS A GREAT CONTEXT IN WHICH TO EXPLORE THE ISSUES OF WOMEN IN POLITICS, PUBLIC POLICY, AND PUBLIC LEADERSHIP. BELOW ARE CLIPS AND TAPE THAT EXPLORED THESE ISSUES.

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“Sex, lies and videotape” was the topic at WTTW-PBS Chicago Tonight. 

@CarletonCollege hosted a webinar: “Women in public leadership: what difference does it make?” No surprise, post-Election Day 2016: participants agreed that there is lots to do!

Every day is Election Day, as November 8th, 2016 rapidly approached. Fox News asked me to share my views on the challenges for the candidates. (A second time on the show, the day after Election Day, a [young, female] Donald Trump supporter and I agreed to disagree.)

@21stShow, from Illinois Public Media, hits the high points on politics and women:

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“The originator of the #GirlPolitics hashtag…on How women are treated in politics,” (the week before Election Day)!

#POTUS2016, and its implications for every woman who will seek public office, is profound. I discuss the issues here with @wbezsarabia on @WBEZ.

“Some Illinois women worry about the message Donald Trump sends,” writes the Chicago Tribune. I noted the ongoing challenges for young women who so often juggle family, work, and civic responsibilities, as they also dream of running for office.

The significance and importance of women in politics, always and all ways: @JustinKaufmann, of @WGNRadio, and I discuss here. Subsequently, we continued the discussion in another show about the 2016 presidential election.

That vice-presidential pick: see here for my discussion about @HillaryClinton choices, on PBS Chicago, WTTW. “96 years after women’s suffrage, a woman is the POTUS candidate for a major political party.”

Live from the Heartland was hosted by longtime Chicago activists and featured insightful stories about Chicago politics. I guested on one program where the topic was women’s engagement in national politics–on the occasion of Women’s Equality Day.

Cosmopolitan in an article entitled:  20 Political Books Every Woman Should Read, features Every Day Is Election Day: A Woman’s Guide to Winning Any Office.

Women’s ENews excerpts Every Day Is Election Day: 6 Simple Rules for Political Leadership Success.

Utne Reader excerpts Every Day Is Election Day: Political personality, a woman’s guide on how to win a campaign.

“What are some of the things Hillary Clinton has done well up to this point and how can she put herself in the best position to win?“Click to watch the interview with the Institute of Politics at UChicago.

“It’s finally official: Hillary Clinton is running for president. So how will her personality, her background and her position as a prominent woman factor into the race?” Listen to this Harris School of Public Policy podcast.

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“What can women do to increase their ranks as elected officials?” Click to watch this interview from Chicago Tonight.

FIND MY COLUMNS FOR THE HUFFINGTON POST HERE.

I’VE WRITTEN FOR CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS HERE:

HERE IS MY SERIES FOR RH REALITY CHECK ON WOMEN’S REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS.

SELECTED MEDIA FOR EVERY DAY IS ELECTION DAY: A WOMAN’S GUIDE, & SOME TAKES OF MINE ON WOMEN’S POLITICAL LEADERSHIP AND PUBLIC INFLUENCE:

FIND MY TODAY’S CHICAGO WOMAN|CHICAGO NOW COLUMNS HERE.

SOME COVERAGE OF EVERY DAY IS ELECTION DAY: A WOMEN’S GUIDE.