The “Pipeline to Politics” training will be Saturday at the Embassy Suites in Norman.
A session for women interested in tribal politics will start at 10:30 a.m., while lunch and other sessions will begin at 11:30 a.m. The day’s sessions end at 5:30 p.m.
This is the third year for the conference, which is devoted to changing Oklahoma’s place as 49th in the nation in the percentage of women serving in the state Legislature.
“From school board to local board to statewide boards and public office, there are a lot of ways for women to serve,” said Sheryl Lovelady, director of the Women’s Leadership Initiative at the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center at the University of Oklahoma.
Women are prone to avoiding running for office because they usually aren’t the self-starters that men are, and they see politics as a more of a man’s world, she said.
Four afternoon sessions will cover a wealth of topics for politically ambitious women. One session will focus on coming up with a campaign plan and what a campaign should look like. Others will focus on dealing with the media and using social-media tools. Another session will impart wisdom on how to fundraise and use those funds responsibly.
“We really give them the model for a successful business plan because, frankly, that’s what running a successful campaign is,” she said.
Registration costs $75. For more information, call 325-6372 or visiting ou.edu/wli.
This article appears in Oct 26 – Nov 1, 2011.