Excerpt #7—Governor Martha Layne Collins

Taped 2/15/85, Interviewer,  Allenda Anderson

60 sec.

Courtesy of the Oral History Center, University Archives and Records Center, University of Louisville

I encourage women to be involved in politics and in government.  I think we need more of them, because when I deal with pieces of legislation, or we’re trying to make a policy decision, it’s always good to have men and women’s points of view.  And I’ve seen, prior to my being governor, I‘ve seen things decided that—we could have made a better decision had we had more women involved in the situation.  You know, women think of things men don’t think of, and men think of things women don’t think of, and so I think it’s a good working relationship, a good team effort.  I encourage women to be involved.  I encourage them because, I feel that everything in government affects them in some way.  And, they have to work hard, they probably have to work twice as hard, because you have to prove that you can do the job.  You have to prove that you have the stamina and the will power and the discipline, not to mention the knowledge.