Kaine hears from women in business
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine stopped by Fredericksburg on Friday for a wide-ranging discussion with a small group of women business owners and professionals.
Kaine, D–Va., sitting at the head of a table at Kybecca restaurant, talked about the proposed federal minimum wage increase, immigration reform and issues facing women entrepreneurs.
Melissa Harris, who founded Foodshed Magazine and Flavor Magazine, told Kaine that she felt the need to bring a “token male” with her to venture capital meetings when she was starting out.
“I felt like I had to hire a token man to come and just show up to meetings in a suit,” she said. “And it often helped.”
Rebecca Thomas, one of Kybecca’s owners, chimed in: “Which I think illustrates even more the need for women entrepreneurs to be launched and successful. It will change the conversation.”
Kaine, a former governor of Virginia, said Harris’ story is “still too common.” He said he has spoken with minority business owners who told him they have to hire a “token Anglo” to be taken seriously.
“We just have to do a better job of breaking down stereotypes,” Kaine said.
As a career counselor for Germanna Community College, Marie Hawley told Kaine that she sees a lot of women in their 30s and 40s who are struggling and in need of encouragement.
“Most of these women have no aspirations of leaving Fredericksburg, which is great, but they need a career that’ll give them more than minimum wage just to take care of their families,” she said.
Kaine said minimum-wage workers are “overwhelmingly women.”
Democrats have proposed increasing the minimum wage nationwide from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour. Millions of people would no longer need food stamps if the wage increase is passed, Kaine said.
Immigration reform also came up.
Marta Berger, a mentor at James Monroe High School in Fredericksburg, said she thinks Virginia is “incredibly ambivalent about the immigration issue.” She says she has mentored children who are top students but cannot receive in-state tuition because they are not U.S. citizens.
“To me, it just seems like it’s just a waste,” she said. “We’re trying to have our cake and eat it too.”
Kaine said that’s the reason he hopes Congress passes immigration reform.
The Senate last year passed a bill that would allow millions of illegal immigrants to live in the United States legally and eventually become U.S. citizens. But the U.S. House of Representatives has not yet moved on a reform bill.
Kaine said the “growing internationalization of Virginia has been nothing but a plus economically.”
“I think it’ll actually be really positive for the economy as it has been throughout history,” he said of immigration reform.
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