The 25 Most Inuential Women in Congress BY EMILY ETHRIDGE A N D CQ R O L L C A L L S TA F F "Powerful Women: The 25 Most Inuential Women in Congress" is a must-have for history lovers, political bu!s and anyone curious about power brokers and female leaders in America. List of Alpha Kappa Alpha sisters - Wikipedia Elizabeth Warren wasborn in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. [21], Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, rose through the ranks of her party leadership to be elected House whip in 2002,[22] before being elevated to House floor leader and minority leader the following year;[23] making her both the first woman whip and the first woman floor leader in either chamber of Congress. "[38], Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution requires a representative to live in the "state in which. She ran for the Democrat nomination in the 2020 presidential election, but she later dropped out of the race and endorsed President Joe Biden. Though more women were elected in 2020, they are still significantly underrepresented in Congress . This makes herthehighest-ranking transgender elected official in the US. Happy International Women's Day! | In Custodia Legis [14] In February 1911, she became the first woman to speak before the Montana legislature, arguing in support of enfranchisement for women in her home state. Lindy, who had served as his chief political adviser, ran for and won his seat in a special election. State Sen. Scott . A US senator elected in 2018, she is the first woman to represent Mississippi in Congress. She spoke at the 2020 Democratic National Convention, calling her recovery "a daily fight." In 2020, she appeared on "The Masked Singer" where she rapped "Baby Got Back," and she was back in headlines recently after bringing a defamation lawsuit against the New York Times a jury found the paper was not liable. She coined the term "Teflon President" to describe Ronald Reagan, and when asked how she could be both a mother of young children and a congresswoman, she said, "I have a brain and a uterus and I use both.". [43], Mary Peltola entered the House of Representatives on September 13, 2022, after winning a special election on August 16, as the first Alaska Native person in either chamber of Congress. Reno was born in Miami, Florida, anddied of Parkinson's disease in 2016. Featured Document Display: First Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin In 1917, Montana was the first state to send a woman to the House of Representatives and to Congress; in 2023, Vermont became the most recent state to send its first woman to the House and to Congress. National American Woman Suffrage Association, Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, History of the Republican Party (United States), Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Women in the United States House of Representatives, Columbia University School of Social Work, "7 Things You May Not Know About Jeannette Rankin History Lists", "Montana's women candidates are out to set another record", "Under the Big Sky: Recalling Rankin's legacy", "American Foreign Policy: Of Her Pacifism", "First Woman Elected to Congress Takes Her Seat", "How Washington women won the right to vote", "From Missoula to Washington D.C. to Aid Cause of Equal Suffrage", "Jeannette Rankin becomes first woman elected to Congress", "Has Anything Changed for Female Politicians? [21], Shortly after her term began, Congress was called into an extraordinary April session in response to Germany declaring unrestricted submarine warfare on all Atlantic shipping. Women in Congress | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives [1] Confident that she had found her calling, she enrolled in the New York School of Philanthropy in New York City[a] from 1908 to 1909. ThoughtCo, Sep. 3, 2021, thoughtco.com/women-in-congress-biography-3528696. These women began to win their own elections, with Florence Prag Kahn of California becoming the first woman to do it. Women throughout US history have shattered political glass ceilings. [28], During Rankin's term, Montana's state legislature voted to replace the state's two at-large Congressional seats with two single-member districts. Born Bella Savitsky on July 24, 1920, in New York City, Abzug spent much of her life fighting social and political change. [7] Asked years later if she ever regretted her action, Rankin replied, "Never. Women have also been sent to Congress from five of the six territories of the United States; the only territory that has not sent a woman to the House of Representatives is the Northern Mariana Islands. She was the first woman to represent Colorado in Congress when she was elected in 1972. Pam Bondi Pamela Jo Bondi is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and politician. [31], In the 2018 House elections, there was a wave of firsts elected to the House of Representatives for the 116th Congress. Gale Norton was the first female US Secretary of the Interior, holding the role from 2001 to 2006. She was instrumental in the creation of the Committee on Woman Suffrage and became one of its founding members. Women in Congress. Madeleine Dean was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2018 one of four Democratic women elected from Pennsylvania that year who replaced an all-male Congressional delegation. [5], Mae Nolan entered the House of Representatives in 1923 as the first Catholic woman in either chamber of Congress. She is the senior senator from Nebraska, having been the first woman elected to a full term to represent Nebraska in 2012. She lived a simple life there, without electricity or plumbing,[32] although she also maintained a residence in Montana. [57] Beginning with a single $500 scholarship in 1978, the fund has since awarded more than $1.8million in scholarships to more than 700 women. Best Known For: Politician Nancy Pelosi became the first female Democratic . Nancy Pelosi wasborn in Baltimore, Maryland. "We have broken the marble ceiling," Pelosi said when she was sworn in for the first time. Despite early momentum in her 2020 presidential campaign, shebowed out of the raceand endorsed Joe Biden. Danica Roem is the first openly transgender lawmaker in the US. [2] Of the 382 women who have served in the House, 251 have been Democrats (including four from U.S. territories and the District of Columbia) and 131 have been Republicans (including three from U.S. territories, including pre-statehood Hawaii). At a disarmament conference during the interwar period, she said, "The peace problem is a woman's problem. PDF "Powerful Women: The 25 Most Inuential Women in Congress - CQ She held the position until 1987, and she remains the only woman to have served as governor of the state. Rashida Harbi Tlaib (/ t l i b /, t-LEEB; born July 24, 1976) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the U.S. representative for Michigan's 12th congressional district since 2019 (known as the 13th congressional district until 2023). First Woman in Congress, 92. California has sent more women to Congress than any other state - a total of 43 to date. [7], Florence Prag Kahn entered the House of Representatives in 1925 as the first Jewish and thus non-Christian woman in either chamber of Congress.[6]. Senator to Give Birth While in Office", "First child born for Elise Stefanik, No. She was also the first woman to chair a Senate committee and the first woman to preside over the Senate. She served as both a US Representative (1993 to 1997) and a US Senator (1999 to 2011). Michele Marie Bachmann (/ b x m n /; ne Amble; born April 6, 1956) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for Minnesota's 6th congressional district from 2007 until 2015. Vermont is the only state that has never sent a woman to Congress. Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger who was elected in 2015. After losing the Republican primary to physician Oscar M. Lanstrum, she accepted the nomination of the National Party and finished third in the general election behind Lanstrum and incumbent Democrat Thomas J. She was the first female governor of South Carolina and served as US ambassador to the United Nations under President Trump. She sits on the House Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, Foreign Affairs, and Homeland Security. Catherine Cortez Masto was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. [7], In 1937, Rankin opposed President Franklin Roosevelt's proposals to intervene on the British side against Germany and its allies, arguing that both sides wished to avoid a second European war and would pursue a diplomatic solution. [7] In 1993, Rankin was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. Barbara Jordan Wikipedia/Public domain Raised in Houston's fifth ward, Barbara Jordan shattered a lot of glass ceilings for her successors. Cynthia Lummis was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming. "For our daughters and our granddaughters now the sky is the limit.". [47], Winnifred Sprague Mason Huck of Illinois, the third woman ever elected to Congress, became the first woman followed into national office due to family connections. A US senator representing Florida, she was best known for passing the 1982 Missing Children's Act. She was born in Wichita, Kansas. Before becoming governor of New Mexico in 2018, she served in the US House of Representatives from 2013 to 2018. At the time of her election, she was the youngest woman ever elected to Congress at 38 years old. In May 2005, she launched The Huffington Post, a news and blog site. 7 Democratic Women to Watch in 2020 - Business Insider June 9, 2023 Updated: June 9, 2023 5:31 p.m. 2. . Birth State: Maryland. A record-breaking 103 women were elected or reelected to the House, causing many to call it the "Year of the Woman" in a reference to the first such year, the 1992 Senate elections. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served. She mobilized again in response to the Vietnam War. Diana Harshbarger Pharmacist Diana Harshberger will join Congress to fill the seat left by retiring Rep. Phil Roe (R) in Tennessee's ruby red 1st Congressional District. [7] She ran as a progressive, emphasizing her support of suffrage, social welfare, and prohibition. Marjorie Taylor Greene Explains Why She Called Fellow Congresswoman She was born in Glenside, Pennsylvania. A lifelong pacifist, she was one of 50 House members who opposed the declaration of war on Germany in 1917. [35] Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib became the first Muslim women elected to either chamber, with Tlaib the first Palestinian-American woman elected to Congress and Omar the first Somali-American of either sex to be elected. She became a household name when she defeated incumbent Joe Crowley in 2018, who hadn't had a primary challenger since 2004, and became the youngest woman to ever serve in Congress. [58], A statue of Rankin by Terry Mimnaugh, inscribed "I Cannot Vote For War", was placed in the United States Capitol's Statuary Hall in 1985. Gender: Female. Gave birth to a son, Zachary. [20] Emerson was sworn into office as such before rejoining the Republicans a few days later. She was the first woman to be elected as the Attorney General of Florida. Women like Anya from Florida, who, after her water broke prematurely, was also rushed to the emergency room. From 1789 to 1916, the House was all male. Maria Cantwell is a US senator representing Washington. Representative Marcy Kaptur, who has served in the House since January 3, 1983, has the longest-serving tenure of any female member in the chamber's history. 11 Texas Women Who Changed the Course of History - Wide Open Country She is third in the line of succession after the president and vice president. [44][45], Three days later, a similar war declaration against Germany and Italy came to a vote; Rankin abstained. She was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2017, winning against an opponent who called himself "Virginia's chief homophobe." She studied at the University of Montana and, in 1902, received a bachelor of science degree in biology. The district includes the western half of Detroit, along with several of its western suburbs and much of the Downriver area. [32][33][34] Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland became the first Native American women ever elected to either house of Congress. She is the first and only woman to have been governor of the state, and she earned the Republican Party's first female vice-presidential nomination when she became John McCain's running mate in 2008. "I may be the first woman member of Congress, but I won't be the last," she said when she was elected in 1916. Speakers of national and territorial legislatures, This page was last edited on 22 June 2023, at 15:55. She was elected to the US Senate in 2006 and is the first female senator to represent Minnesota. [27], In 2011, the House of Representatives got its first women's bathroom near the chamber (Room H-211 of the Capitol building); women in the Senate have had their own restroom off the Senate floor since 1993. "[23] Years later, she would add, "I felt the first time the first woman had a chance to say no to war, she should say it. [53], Rankin died on May 18, 1973, at age 92, in Carmel, California. Additionally, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Donna Shalala became, respectively, the youngest and the oldest woman ever elected to Congress. Shirley Anita Chisholm ( / tzm / CHIZ-m; ne St. Hill; November 30, 1924 - January 1, 2005) was an American politician who, in 1968, became the first black woman to be elected to the United States Congress. She served in the House of Representatives from 1925 to 1951 and earned the nickname "Battling Mary." [33], Rankin began her campaign for Congress in 1939 with a tour of high schools in Montana. Jeannette Rankin - Wikipedia Blanche Lincoln was born in Helena, Arkansas. To date, no woman who has served in the House has ever previously been a senator, been elected to represent more than one state in non-consecutive elections, switched parties, or served as a third-party member in her career, although one was reelected as an Independent. [13] Later, she would draw from the same grassroots infrastructure during her 1916 congressional campaign. She was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican from Montana in 1916; she served one term until she was elected again in 1940. The states that have not elected a woman to the House of Representatives are Mississippi and North Dakota; both have sent women to the United States Senate. The four congresswomen - Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts - have not only been the focus of. ThoughtCo. As of March 7, 2023, there are 125 women in the U.S. House of Representatives (not including four female non-voting delegates), making women 28.7% of the total. Entry to Both World Wars", "Jeanmarie Simpson: 'Artivist' for Change, Part 2", "Accomplishments of first female member of Congress represented in song", "Artist Paints Mural of Jeannette Rankin on Kalispell Brewery", "O'Neill Theater Center's 2019 Season Taps New Works by Craig Lucas, Hansol Jung, Charly Evon Simpson, Anna Ziegler, More", "When Jeannette said 'No': Montana women's response to World War I", The only U.S. politician to vote against war with Japan 75 years ago was this remarkable woman, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, Suffragists Oral History Project at Berkeley 197172 interviews with Rankin, Montana's at-large congressional district, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jeannette_Rankin&oldid=1161614644, Erickson, AJ. Kristi Noem wasborn in Watertown, South Dakota. [3], Rankin used her office to push for better working conditions for laborers. She was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. [15] She had greater success pushing for better working conditions in the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. In November 1910, Washington voters approved an amendment to their state constitution to permanently enfranchise women, the fifth state in the Union to do so. At its dedication, historian Joan Hoff-Wilson called Rankin "one of the most controversial and unique women in Montana and American political history". Women in the United States House of Representatives [36] Angie Craig became the first lesbian mother to be elected. Womens Rights Activists Tammy Duckworth Illinois' Tammy Duckworth became the first disabled female veteran to earn election to the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as the. Once again, Rankin enjoyed the political support of her well-connected brother Wellington, even though the siblings had increasingly divergent lifestyles and political views. [17], Rankin later compared her work in the women's suffrage movement to promoting the pacifist foreign policy that defined her congressional career. She is currently serving as the 56th mayor of Chicago the first Black woman and openly gay person to hold the position. Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) When her husband FDR took office, Eleanor didn't just stand byshe dramatically changed the role of the first lady, advocating for human rights, women's rights, and . Ella T. Grasso was born in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. The child's father was fellow congressman. Bold and outspoken, she was a leading liberal activist and politician in. Shirley Chisholm - Wikipedia She was the 37th Attorney General from 2011 to 2019. Following is an index of the women who've been Representatives - sometimes called Congresswomen or Congressmen beginning with the first in 1917. Women in the U.S. House of Representatives 2023 - CAWP Janet Reno was the first woman to serve as US attorney general. Harris is the first woman to serve as vice president of the United States, as well as the first African-American and Asian-American vice president. Patricia Schroeder was born in Portland, Oregon. The most famous female politician from every state - Insider [38] A replica stands in Montana's capitol building in Helena. [24][25] On January 3, 2019, Pelosi become the first woman to reclaim the speakership. [48][54], In 1965, Elizabeth Kee of West Virginia became the first woman who directly preceded her own child in any chamber of Congress; event occurred after she stepped down from the House and her son was elected to a vacant seat. The gym of the House of Representatives (with the exception of its swimming pool) first opened to women in 1985, the gym having previously been male-only. Alma Adams was born in High Point, North Carolina. [9], Patsy Mink, an Asian American, entered the House of Representatives in 1965 as the first woman of color in either chamber of Congress. Women hold at least 27% of the seats in the 117th Congress, up from 23% during the 116th session. [55] Congresswomen Loretta and Linda Snchez, both of California, served along each other from 2003 to 2017; making them the first pair of sisters elected to either chamber. Women throughout US history have shattered political glass ceilings. She served in the US House of Representatives from 1970 to 1974, and then became the first woman elected as governor of a US state whose husband hadn't also held the position in 1975. From 1789 to 1916, the House was all male. Barbara Jordan was a lawyer and educator who was a congresswoman from 1972 to 1978 the first African American. [61], Opera America commissioned a song cycle about Rankin called Fierce Grace that premiered in 2017. The number of women who have served in Congress to date. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is an American Democratic Socialist who made headlines in 2018 by beating a 10-term New York Democrat incumbent in a congressional primary, before becoming the youngest. Not one of them had the courage to do it. Martha Layne Collins became the highest-ranking female Democrat in the US when she was elected governor of Kentucky in 1983. No woman was serving in Congress when the resolution that would become the 19th Amendment passed. The Senator Who Stood Up to Joseph McCarthy When No One Else Would [3] Her election generated considerable nationwide interest, including, reportedly, several marriage proposals. She was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican from Montana in 1916; she served one term until she was elected again in 1940.As of 2023, Rankin is still the only woman ever . Famous female authors. She was elected to the US Senate in 2012, becoming the first woman to represent Wisconsin in the Senate and the first-ever openly gay senator in US history. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. "Women in Congress." She was born on a farm near Bakerville, Tennessee. Kamala Harris was born in Oakland, California. Women have been elected to the House of Representatives from 48 of the 50 states. [48][49] In 1990, Rep. Susan Molinari become the first woman elected to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of her father rather than his death. The First Women in Congress | US House of Representatives: History, Art Birth Country: United States. Who Is AOC: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Her Rise to - Vanity Fair She was born in Wilmington, Delaware. Shelley Moore Capito is the first woman to represent West Virginia in the Senate. [37] Hisses could be heard in the gallery as she cast her vote; several colleagues, including Rep. (later Senator) Everett Dirksen, asked her to change it to make the resolution unanimousor at very least, to abstainbut she refused. [11] Returning to New York, Rankin became one of the organizers of the New York Woman Suffrage Party,[12] which joined with other suffrage organizations to promote a similar suffrage bill in that state's legislature. [3] She was the eldest of six children, including five sisters (one of whom died in childhood) and a brother, Wellington, who became Montana's attorney general and later, a justice on the Montana Supreme Court.
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