Author Catherine Thimmesh got the idea for her book in the middle of the night when she found herself wondering when the U.S. would elect its own Madam President. We talked with Catherine about writing Madam President and her advice for girls who want to be our first female Commander-in-Chief.
Q: You were inspired to write this book by the lack of female candidates in this year’s Presidential election. Why do you think it important for girls to get involved?
A: Women represent half the world. Not only do they represent 50% of the population, and therefore their views should be represented, but they also have so much to offer in terms of skills that I think that they should be in those positions of leadership.
Q: Do you hope your book inspires some girls to look at what it means to be a politician or to run for office one day?
A: Oh, absolutely! One my favorite quotes in the book is from [former Secretary of State] Madeline Albright. She says that whatever school she was in, she always formed policy clubs and always made herself President, but she had never viewed herself as becoming Secretary of State. It wasn’t because she was particularly modest, but because she had never seen a Secretary of State in a skirt.
Once girls actually see women in these positions, then, like Madeleine Albright, they can begin to envision themselves in these roles.
Q: There are a lot of little-known facts and stories in this book. How long did it take you to write it and what kind of research did you have to do?
A: I wanted it to come out before the presidential election. It was a 24-hour project for about a month and a half. I worked until 3 in the morning, got 3 hours of sleep, then got up and did it all over again. Research is extremely important to me and accuracy is extremely important to me. 90% of the research I do sometimes gets cut, but that’s just part of the project. That’s the fun part too.
Q: Growing up, did you ever want to be President?
A: Yeah. Of course I did. One of the questions I get asked a lot is, “When are we going to see a woman President?” My answer is that we’re not going to see a woman President until women start stepping up to the plate. And not one at a time. It’s been 20 years since we’ve had one woman on the general ticket, and that was as Vice President. Ultimately I want the book to be a celebration of the positive accomplishments that women have made. And then I want it to be a jumping off point to say “Look what we have done and there’s no reason why women shouldn’t be going further.”
Q: Do you have any advice or message to send to any girls who are motivated by your book?
A: My advice would be to seek out leadership roles. Do not be afraid to step up to the plate. And do not be afraid to have opinions, to state those opinions, and to state them strongly. Start small! Start on the student council and build from there.
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