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Women's convention organisers under fire as prime speaking slot given to Bernie Sanders

Thousands of people are expected to gather in Detroit at the end of the month for the event 

Alexandra Wilts
Washington DC
Friday 13 October 2017 14:50 BST
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Senator Bernie Sanders
Senator Bernie Sanders

Organisers of a women’s convention are under fire after they announced that a prime speaking slot would go to a man: Bernie Sanders.

The former presidential candidate is one of two men among more than 60 people scheduled to speak at the Women’s Convention in Detroit at the end of October. Mr Sanders will address the crowd on the opening day of the three-day event, convention organisers said on social media.

“This choice sends the wrong message,” tweeted Stephanie Schriock, the president of Emily’s List, one of the convention’s sponsors.

Ms Schriock said Emily’s List had reached out to the event's planners to “share our disappointment and offer our help.”

“We have more women leaders in elected office than ever before,” she added. “Women ARE leading in the Senate. This is a moment to highlight them.”

According to the Washington Post, event organisers said they invited several past and current female elected officials to attend the convention, such as Hillary Clinton, and Democratic senators Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand. However, the time of the event conflicted with their schedules

The event will be the first national convention led by the organisers of the Women’s March. In January, millions of participants in different cities worldwide marched to show support for women’s rights and to protest Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The Detroit convention is aimed to build on the momentum from the march.

In a statement on Facebook, Mr Sanders said he is honoured to “join the women at the front lines of our struggle for economic, social, racial and environmental justice.”

“In January, millions of women came out in an extraordinary and unprecedented display of power and resistance,” Mr Sanders said, referring to the Women’s March. “Now more than ever, we must support the leadership of women across the country and fight together to advance our progressive agenda.”

Following the backlash over Mr Sanders’ speaking slot, event organiser Tamika Mallory on Twitter defended the decision to have the senator speak: “We announce one man as a speaker among over 60, and y’all start saying he’s our leader?!”

She also quickly pointed out that the senator is not the event’s headliner. That slot is going to Democratic Representative Maxine Waters.

In July, Ms Waters made waves when she admonished Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin for dodging her question during a House Financial Services Committee hearing. She chided him for wasting her allotted time for questioning and repeated the phrase, “reclaiming my time.”

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