COLE DISCUSSES WOMEN’S ISSUES
During this upcoming election, it is important that the women of Cincinnati have an opportunity to have their voice heard. So on Saturday June 4, I discussed Cincinnati’s issues with women during my first annual Girlfriends for Tea event. Girlfriends for Tea provided a chance for various women from around Cincinnati to come together to share stories, laughs, and concerns.
What happens in Cincinnati affects all of us, regardless of where you live, your ethnic background, your job status, or whether you are a man or a woman. However, we all look at things from different perspectives, whether it is due to your life experience or gender. A prime example of this fact was the issue of homeownership, which I discussed at Girlfriends for Tea.
I have found that men and women both support the need for more homeownership. However, both see the need for homeownership in a different light. While men may see it as an investment in property and therefore the community, women often see it as a chance for stability. Studies have shown that a child raised in an owner occupied home has 7% higher math scores, 9% better reading scores, and a 25% higher chance of going to college.
In addition, I discussed the need for women to support women in our community. For example, while women tend to contribute to other women often during the political campaign season, women donate to men at a higher rate. A woman can best understand women’s issues in our community. Men can sympathize, but only other women can empathize. We need to support each other. This support must manifest itself not only in political support during the upcoming election cycle, but also when it comes to the responsibilities of balancing work and family, providing a positive example to our youth, or in spiritual matters.
I was excited to recently have the opportunity to discuss my thoughts on these matters at Girlfriends for Tea. I value the chance for women in our community to come together to talk. We need to have more of these exchanges, because they can help bridge the boundaries of location, background, job or race by accentuating a commonality.
What happens in Cincinnati affects all of us, regardless of where you live, your ethnic background, your job status, or whether you are a man or a woman. However, we all look at things from different perspectives, whether it is due to your life experience or gender. A prime example of this fact was the issue of homeownership, which I discussed at Girlfriends for Tea.
I have found that men and women both support the need for more homeownership. However, both see the need for homeownership in a different light. While men may see it as an investment in property and therefore the community, women often see it as a chance for stability. Studies have shown that a child raised in an owner occupied home has 7% higher math scores, 9% better reading scores, and a 25% higher chance of going to college.
In addition, I discussed the need for women to support women in our community. For example, while women tend to contribute to other women often during the political campaign season, women donate to men at a higher rate. A woman can best understand women’s issues in our community. Men can sympathize, but only other women can empathize. We need to support each other. This support must manifest itself not only in political support during the upcoming election cycle, but also when it comes to the responsibilities of balancing work and family, providing a positive example to our youth, or in spiritual matters.
I was excited to recently have the opportunity to discuss my thoughts on these matters at Girlfriends for Tea. I value the chance for women in our community to come together to talk. We need to have more of these exchanges, because they can help bridge the boundaries of location, background, job or race by accentuating a commonality.
