Kanchan Ojha, president of OSU’s Women in Policy student group, discusses how the club supports the professional endeavors of its members and strengthens the knowledge of anyone interested in learning more about public policy.
By Gabriella Grinbergs, CLA Student Writer - November 20, 2024
Despite consisting of roughly half the population in the U.S., women are drastically underrepresented in public policy positions. In the United States Senate, as of 2023, only 25 percent of seats are filled by women with only 3 percent filled by women of color. In the House of Representatives, 28.5 percent of voting members are women, equating to 124 seats, plus four women serving in non-voting seats. As for state governments, women make up 32.7 percent of state legislatures and 24 percent of governors.
These statistics, however, belong to an upward trend over the past several decades. Women’s representation in politics continues to grow as organizations and individuals dedicated to this cause push for women’s voices in positions of power.
At OSU, one of those groups is Women in Policy.
Women in Policy (W.I.P.) was founded in 2011 and provides “a platform for increased collaboration and education for those interested in policy topics…”, according to their webpage. The student group welcomes everyone and anyone at OSU with any level of interest in public policy.
“It serves as a platform for education for those interested in policy topics,” current president Kanchan Ojha, M.P.P. ‘22, explained. “And it also spans (members from) different disciplines, from social and natural sciences.”
Ojha got involved with W.I.P. in 2019 when she began pursuing a master’s degree in public policy. She was initially drawn to the student group because of her passion for her field and for the group’s commitment to representing women in public policy. Ojha became president of W.I.P in 2021 as she began her Ph.D. in environmental science, focusing on the social dimensions of environmental issues.
She remained a part of the group during the pandemic when meetings were temporarily halted, then held over Zoom until late 2021. She described this time to be very chaotic as it was difficult to keep members involved without meeting in-person.
“It would be tough to come together. But still, we tried to do a couple of meetings, and then it felt like it was okay to meet in person,” she said. “We tried to have different discussions and see if we could do something moving forward.”
Following the pandemic, W.I.P. hosted bi-weekly, in-person meetings, which bolstered member participation and expanded opportunities for meeting agendas and topics. Ojha mentioned that W.I.P. lead officer Tera Stegner initiated a survey of members at this time, asking what they would like to see from W.I.P. The results then became an outline for different events the club hosted for members. “We would discuss our plans as a team during the bi-weekly meetings and proceed accordingly.” “My co-partner Evaewero French has been a great pillar of support for the club. Our club has been able to bring students together, and all credit goes to the wonderful team,” Ojha adds.
Guest speakers were invited to discuss their careers and insight on public policy and included Katy Coba, president of the board of commissioners for the Port of Portland, Misty Freeman, M.P.P. ‘12, Ph.D. ‘16, director of the Legislative Policy and Research Office for the State of Oregon, Lacey Beaty, ‘12, the first woman mayor of Beaverton; and Sharla Moffett, the director of energy, environment, natural resources and infrastructure at Oregon Business & Industry, among others.
“We invite different women to speak who could talk about how they have worked through different stages in their life and the motivation factors for women in the policy arena. We also share our stories, which provide a platform for camaraderie for each other,” Ojha said. “We have also held panel discussions on women's representation in academia, the #MeToo movement, and the family leave policy.”
W.I.P. receives support from faculty advisor Dr. Brent Steel and Director of the School of Public Policy Catherine Bolzendahl, who help to connect the group with guest speakers, offices, and organizations to collaborate with. W.I.P. has also worked with the Career Development Center and the Valley Library to create workshops that teach members about academic publishing, constructing a curriculum vitae (CV), and drafting cover letters along with the know-how of other career development resources.
While the name specifies a focus on women’s roles in policy making, W.I.P. remains dedicated to the inclusion of all its members, as Ojha stated, “We do not discriminate against people based on gender or orientation. Everyone coming together in the same place has definitely been a strength. We also have a male representation as Ankit Koirala in our leadership team.”
Ojha expressed her pride in being able to represent such “a wonderful group of people”, interested in public policy and professional advancement.
“We have women from all different walks of life, all different fields of life, from the undergrad to first-generation students, graduate students, to student parents like me to international students,” she continues. “All of these people coming together and doing things is definitely a great achievement.” Ojha also emphasizes the fact that her team, with fellow leadership team Evaewero French, Ankit Koirala, Umama Rahman, Shahrin Shahab, and Lara, Trisha, Abby, Grace, Zoe, Johannah and Tera, have made it possible for W.I.P. to help brainstorm and make events happen during my tenure.
Despite the challenges of maintaining a school organization, Women in Policy continues to hold space for discussion and education on the crucial role of women’s representation in policy making.