Ouray County Commission Chairwoman Lynn Padgett and U.S. Sen. Mark Udall at a forum Thursday at Metro State University on women’s issues. (Provided by Udall’s office)
U.S. Sen. Mark Udall heard plenty about the challenges women face during a panel Thursday at Metro State University that included a millennial saddled with student-loan debts, a county commissioner in an isolated part of the state and the first woman to ever serve on the school board in her town.
Also on the panel was Wy Livingston, president and CEO of Wystone’s World Teas.
“Part of the reason I decided to start my own business was not only for the fact that I’m a foodie and have a love of all things food and tea and coffee but also because I was working in a corporate environment where the the person holding me down was a woman,” she said. “We don’t talk about that very often. We want to take pot shots at the men.”
Udall in , which held listening sessions statewide and guided his work in Washington. The panel Thursday was an ongoing part of that network, with panelists talking about the importance of ensuring economic opportunity, security and success for Colorado women.
“Right now, there’s no issue that’s more important than ensuring economic security for our families here in Colorado,” Udall said. “As we look for ways to continue growing our economy, as I continue to emphasize, we’ve got to look at broadening opportunities for Colorado women. And whether it’s equal pay for equal work, wages that reflect 21st century costs or addressing our nation’s crisis of student loan debt, it’s clear that we’ve got a lot of work left to do.”
The Democratic senator is locked in a fierce re-election battle with Republican Congressman Cory Gardner. attacked Gardner on women’s issues.
Among the members of the panel:
Lynn Padgett is chairwoman of the Ouray County Board of Commissioners. The county covers 542 square miles, boasts a population of around 4,500 and is home to Ouray and Ridgway.
She talked about the high costs and availability of child care, the importance of having reliable internet service and the impacts of mandates on a small county where half the land is owned by the federal government. Broadband would open up opportunities, she said.
“We actually have 4g now,” Padgett said, to laughter.
Hannah Gushurst-Jones, who graduated with a degree in business from the University of Colorado at Boulder in December of 2013.
She said she has dual-citizenship in Canada, where her sisters decided to go to college. They have much less debt at much lower interest rates. She said the “boy’s club mentality” she has encountered is nothing compared to the debt she amassed to get her degree, which she has managed to pay down to about $50,000.
She said she and other millennials are often portrayed negatively in the media as lazy, selfie-taking, social-media obsessed young adults who drift from job to job.
“My generation grew up in a very interesting time. We’re inheriting the costs of two seemingly endless wars. Many of our families are still trying to recover from the recession. We care about careers that have positive social impact. That was especially true for me when I left school and I decided to join a nonprofit,” she said.
“We’re the first generation being told we’re going to be poorer than our parents. So not only are we starting out thousands of dollars in debt we’re being told … we won’t be able to even catch up. How motivating is that?”
But, she said, millennials want to be successful.
“I really believe our generation has a lot to bring to the table. We’re young — for the time being. We’re creative. We’re driven. And I think that … our ideals will surprise everyone.”
Marcy Morrison, a former school board member, county commissioner, state representative and state insurance commissioner, is now president of the board of the Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce.
She was the first woman to run for the school board in Manitou Springs and she recalled spending $11.29 on the campaign, to buy mimeograph paper. She won her 1973 election. Morrison said she began to notice that anytime there was a tough issue, such as where to find the money to build a new school, the men would always take a recess.
“I said one night, ‘Gentleman, if you are going to have a discussion about anything important in the restroom I am going to follow you in there,'” she said. “It scared the heck out them. They never made a decision in the restroom after that.”
Morrison, who took heat from her fellow Republicans in the legislature for supporting a woman’s right to choose and other issues, offered some parting advice.
“We women have come so far,” she said. “Don’t regress.”
