A rebuke to the male-centric culture created by Mikulski, the ‘dean’ of women in the Senate, was the emergence of the regular dinners among the female Senators. The aim of these dinners is to build collegiality and camaraderie among the women and to enjoy some time off from the pressures and stresses of their demanding jobs. The cross-section of female Senators is diverse in terms of age, background, interests, and political beliefs. However, this bipartisan ritual has persisted for over two decades to bond the women of the Senate together while in an occupational culture that has been at best apathetic and uninviting and at worse hostile and overtly challenging. The bipartisanship and collegiality among female Senators in recent years has extended well beyond the regular dinners and into their legislative work. Cooperation by female Senators across party lines in recent years is most prevalent when the legislation is regarding a ‘women’s issue.’ This seems to …show more content…
Republican women in particular have been excluded from legislation drafting committees and left out of committee chair positions; Senator Murkowski is the only female Republican committee chairwoman. Given that only 5 of the 52 Republican Senators are women, female Senators in the current Senate “are so underrepresented in the Republican conference” and the number of female Senators is “so paltry they don’t register in that power hierarchy.” Reminiscent of the all-male Anita Hill hearings from 1992, no female Republican was involving in the drafting of the Republican’s Obamacare repeal bill, even though Senator Collins is a health care expert. Despite their exclusion from the power hierarchy, female Senators are quick to receive insults and scorn from their male colleagues when they run afoul of party
Kim E Nielsen. "Book Review of Belle Moskowitz: Feminine Politics and the Exercise of Power in the Age of Alfred E. Smith, and: No Place for a Woman: A Life of Senator Margaret Chase Smith, and: Barbara Jordan: American Hero." Feminist Formations, Fall 2001, 205.
I am choosing to write my essay focusing on Nancy Pelosi, arguably one of the most influential politicians of her time, and certainly one of the outstanding ladies of the political world. Not only was she the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House, she also was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame at Seneca Falls. She ranks with the most consequential speakers, certainly in the last 75 years.”(Burstyn) Nancy Pelosi was born on March 26th in 1940 and she has represented San Francisco for approximately 29 years. This however is not by far her most notable achievement, speaker of the house aside, under her guidance the 111th US Congress was said to be the most productive in the history of its conception. This means that she was able to oversee the 111th Congress in a manner that minimized the terrible three, collective action problems, commitment problems, and coordination problems. These problems all come down to the inability to make decisions, and are extremely ponderous to efficiency. She ran it as famously, even though the house was so divided when she took the pos...
The women of the state of Arizona have always played a significant role in politics. Before most women even had the right to vote, two women from Arizona, Frances Munds and Rachel Berry, were the first women elected into the state legislature. Today, Arizona has the highest percentage of women in the state legislature. More impressive is the fact that Arizona is the first state ever to have an all-female elected line of succession. There is no doubt that these five women greatly contributed to making 1997 the "Year of the Woman," where there was a dramatic increase in women's representation in the House and Senate. Why women in Arizona have flourished in the political arena and continue to do so is a question our group will try to answer in our research. More specifically, I will discuss women in current Arizona politics. In reviewing the role of women in current politics today, I will discuss the reasons as to why women have such strong political power in the state of Arizona, and the difference, between the views of voters in Arizona and other states. I will also discuss not only the future of women in Arizona politics but the future of women in national politics as well, and what to expect as the new millenium approaches.
On November 1912, women won the right to vote in Arizona. This period of time marked a lot of changes for women and politics in Arizona. Women had to struggle against a male dominated society that influenced their vote despite their new freedom to vote as they saw fit. The right to vote eventually led to a proliferation of women running for local, state, and national offices. Those running for office faced skepticism about their capabilities as a politician, concern over whether they had the drive, intelligence, and strength to face down opponents within the political arena. Despite these obstacles, women have proven to be successful politicians and have infiltrated the ranks of male dominated government systems, both within states and nationwide. Today, women are virtually equal to men as far as their capabilities are concerned, yet are still under-represented in the national political scene. By reviewing a brief history of a few women in politics in Arizona and examining current political themes, a platform is formed that allows an understanding and recognition of the struggles and progression of women in politics today.
The. Trotter, Gayle S. "Independent Women's Forum." Congressional Digest Mar. 2013: 25-31. pp.
Before the 1920s men and women were thought to have two separate roles in life. People believed women should be concerned with their children, home, and religion, while men took care of business and politics. In 1920 there were significant changes for women in politics, the home, and the workplace. When the 19th amendment passed it gave women the right to vote. “Though slowly to use their newly won voting rights, by the end of the decade women were represented local, state, and national political committees and were influencing the political agenda of the federal government.” Now a days it’s normal for women to be involved in politics and it’s normal for women to vote. Another drastic change
‘Boys will be boys’, a phrase coined to exonerate the entire male sex of loathsome acts past, present, and potential. But what about the female sex, if females act out of turn they are deemed ‘unladylike’ or something of the sort and scolded. This double standard for men and women dates back as far as the first civilizations and exists only because it is allowed to, because it is taught. Gender roles and cues are instilled in children far prior to any knowledge of the anatomy of the sexes. This knowledge is learned socially, culturally, it is not innate. And these characteristics can vary when the environment one is raised in differs from the norm. Child rearing and cultural factors play a large role in how individuals act and see themselves.
Women's SuffrageTopic: Women’s Suffrage Question: What were the struggles that women had, what did they have to go through?Thesis: The struggles to achieve equal rights for women is often thought, right to vote. The amendment was the culmination of more than 70 years of struggle by women suffragists. Beginning of the fight for women’s suffrage in the United States. The Women’s Suffrage was the right of women to vote.
Ernst, Julia L. "The Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues: An Inside Perspective on Lawmaking by and for Women." Michigan Journal of Gender & Law, 12.2 (2006): 189-274.
One major factor in why women did not reach equality in America in the past century was their underrepresentation in local, state, and federal politics. Between 1917, when Jeanette Rankin became the first woman to serve in the United States Congress, and 2000, only 219 women have been elected as US representatives or senators. Of these, only 28 have been women of color. In contrast, in the 20th century over a thousand men served in Congress, and 132 men of color. In the 106th United States Congress (which met from 1999-2001) only 58 of the 535 legislators were women, and only 18 were women of color. As a result, laws that benefitted women faced heavy opposition before they could be passed. In addition, women made up the minority of Supreme Court justices and presidential cabinet members at every point in the 20th century, and of the 15 presidents...
Women of power are treated very poorly. These women of power include politicians, doctors, lawyers and businesswomen. Arguably, female politicians receive the worst treatment of all. Everything they do is constantly under media scrutiny, like what they wear and what they say, much more so than their male counterparts. The difference in the number of men and women congress members is vast, almost 5 to 1. Many women shy away from the political light for these reasons. An article, “Women in Politics”, written by Kenneth Jost, he explains the feats of women in the past 100 years:
What would you have done if an important woman in your life couldn't have her voice be heard? Would you help fight for her rights? Would you be okay that her voice wasn't heard, and continued on with your life? Would you be against her having any rights that you would try to maintain the imbalance in society instead? Women in the 1840s had no rights. They could not vote, own property, receive an education or participate in any professions such as a doctor, lawyer, or politician. It was time that they finally took a stand when in 1848 Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized the first national women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York. It would take about 72 years for the United States to
About eight decades ago, the United States Constitution granted American women the right to vote. During the same era, only men ran for office and decided what is best for American citizens. Many females in the world today are becoming politicians. Today, many women will consider running for local offices in their communities. The “Women Rights” article states “women were excluded from the electoral process for more than 140 years”. The “Women Rights” article also states that women did not have the opportunity to attend college. Women in their communities are considering running for president, commissioner, secretary, etc. American citizens will decide who should hold office. The three reasons why I believe women should consider politics are
Throughout this essay it will be discussed how female representations affects society, what has changed, if has changed during the years. Representations of women were a crucial subject of discussion especially in the concepts of the gaze that often refers to women as objects of the active gaze. The gaze establishes relationships of power, representing different codes such as dominance and subjugation, difference and otherness (Sturken and Cartwright 2009: 111).
Women have fought through torture, blood, sweat, and tears to help women stand strong in our