The Best-Kept Secret: Women Corporate Lobbyists, Policy, and Power in the United States

Chapter 6: Women, Corporate Lobbying, and Power

126 Chapter 6 Women, Corporate Lobbying, and Power Women’s presence on the lobbying scene in Washington and elsewhere in the country is undeniable. The “bastions of cigar-smoking dinosaurs,” as one corporate lobbyist put it, are nearly extinct. It is no longer unusual to see women lobbyists networking with legislators and staffers and arguing their cases in the halls of Congress, at restaurants, and on the golf course. Women have fast become part of the growing interest group community in Washington (Donato 1990) and are making significant headway in all areas of lobbying. Over the last few decades, the number of corporations with Washington offices has skyrocketed and, along with this, the number of corporate government relations officials. Women’s increased involvement in corporate lobbying contributes significantly to this growth. Although it was just a short time ago that corporations were looked down on for sending a woman to do their business on the Hill, women have now established themselves as legitimate players in the business-government nexus. But it has not been without a fight. In the early 1980s, along with increasing numbers of women in government, women began to enter positions as government relations representatives for major corporations in Washington. Initially, women in these positions were not taken very seriously by those in business or government. Unlike their female counterparts on Women, Corporate Lobbying, and Power 127 the Hill—women staffers who were already involved in writing key pieces of legislation—corporate women “downtown” were, according to one of my interviewees,“still serving coffee.” Moreover, women corporate lobbyists were excluded from the male-dominated networks where important information and knowledge is shared and a common culture established; thus, they lacked crucial resources needed to do their jobs.As women became increasingly frustrated with their exclusion from old boys networks, they decided to take action. A small group of women lobbyists for major corporations in Washington took it upon themselves to form a “women’s network,” where they could obtain and share information and career advice through informal and formal events and activities and through organizational membership.These early corporate lobbyists took it upon themselves to be vigilant in mentoring younger women in the field and pushing corporate heads to hire more women in the area of government relations.Their hard work paid off. Several younger women interviewed for this book claim that, had it not been for the efforts of these pioneering women, they probably wouldn’t be in the field. The women I encountered through the various phases of my research for this book, without exception, said that working as a government relations official is a “good job for women.” Compared with other occupations where women are concentrated , even compared with most other managerial jobs, corporate government relations officials earn high salaries and have high visibility. There are also opportunities for advancement within corporate government relations operations. A couple of decades ago only a handful of women were at the top of the government relations hierarchy. By 1995, a quarter of all Washington offices were headed by women. Half of all government relations “managers” are were women. Still, it appears that, among corporate government relations officials for major U.S. corporations, there is almost no diversity 128 Th e B e s t - K e p t S e c r e t by race and ethnicity. This may be partly due to the fact that staffers with whom they interact are mostly white, which may influence corporate hiring decisions.Also, black women are underrepresented in prestigious law schools where women prepare to enter the field of corporate government relations. None of my interviewees for this book were black women or other women of color. At the Tax Alliance retreat, only one of the attendees was non-white. I accompanied this woman for breakfast one morning, where she spoke briefly of her experiences as the only non-white woman in the organization. As a woman in a maledominated field, and a woman of color in a predominantly white organization, she reported that at first she was a bit uncomfortable , but that the other women have been very supportive and welcoming. She looked forward to increased racial-ethnic diversity among the Tax Alliance members in the future because, as she said, that would make it “easier” for new women to assimilate into the organization. For women who have made their way into the field of...