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My issue is, well, women. Not women’s issues, but women. Don’t get me wrong – I care deeply about women’s issues, all of them – pay equity, reproductive rights, family leave, education, health care, and the others. But right now my focus is how women are perceived and treated in politics both in the context of this presidential election and afterward.

So that you understand where I’m coming from – and in the interest of disclosure – I’m the executive director of WomenCount, the organization that has partnered with Tokoni to encourage women to tell the stories behind the issues that matter to them. WomenCount was created in the closing days of Hillary Clinton’s primary campaign to represent the voices of women around the country who wanted Hillary to stay in the race until every vote was cast and counted. Although her campaign fell short, we felt that our voices were heard.

My involvement with Hillary’s campaign and now WomenCount feels familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. I worked in political journalism in Washington for many years, and as a result, I did not openly support any candidates or political issues.

But a move to California and Hillary’s historic bid for office changed all of that, and a year ago I jumped in with both feet to work for the candidates and causes I cared about. Along the way, I watched how deeply women were marginalized on the campaign trail. Hillary was repeatedly the victim of gender bias – from the media, other politicians, and voters. Worse, no one did anything about it. That’s why we launched our “Stop the Silence” on sexism campaign. 

Now, we’re focused on the fact that women are being targeted in the general election as a critical voting block, and yet again, we’re feeling that our voices haven’t been heard. WomenCount’s new campaign, “I’m a woman, I have issues,” is intended to put faces, names, and stories to reports of poll results that put the economy, the war, and health care as the issues that matter most to women. Is that even accurate? What does that mean? Why are those our issues? I look forward to reading the stories.