Jeannette Rankin, a woman who changed history forever.
In 1916, Rankin was voted into the United States House of Representatives and became the first woman to ever serve in Congress. She was voted in by the state of Montana before she was even allowed to vote in an election herself. It wasn’t until 1920 when the women of the United States were able to vote, but until then Rankin served as a role model.
Now, 103 years later, we have the most diverse Congress the nation has ever had with 27.3 percent of the representatives being women. According to National Public Radio, there has been a 15 percent increase of women in our current Congress than ever before.
The U.S. House of Representatives now has 102 women, which is double the number of women who served in 1997. The U.S. Senate now seats 25 women, which makes up 1/4 of the total number in the Senate.
In addition to having a record high of females, Congress now houses the youngest female member, the first Native American woman and the first Muslim woman. Change is happening, but it has taken 230 years.
Since it’s beginning 358 women have served in Congress: 40 in the Senate only, 302 in the House only and 16 who have been in both the House and the Senate. Though this number is very exciting, the fact that there have been 12,343 members of Congress since 1789, means only 2.9 percent of Congress members have been female. 97.1 percent of all congress members have been men.
I get that women are at a 127-year disadvantage, but really, how as a society have we let this happen? How do we fix it? According to Margaret Thatcher, it takes the everyday women.
“Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country.”
Women today can do it. We can do it. We can make the change. With the presidential elections coming up in a year and a half women can take the next step.
According to the LA Times, there are six women who have announced they will be running for U.S. President as of Mar. 14. Six women. This gives me hope for the future and that I may be able to get what I want.
I want to look at my daughter(s) one day and say ‘go and be whatever you want to be’ and actually mean it.
I want to see Congress filled with half men and half women.
I want to continue on the upward improvement of the demographics of Congress, making it more equal.
I don’t want another 100 years to go by and only raise the percentage of women in Congress by less than three percent. So women stand up and ‘run like a girl,’ stick to your beliefs and always hold your head up.
Organizations like Emily’s List and She Should Run help women interested in running have a platform and provide support. Emily’s List helps women apart of the Democratic party run for office and help build campaigns. She Should Run encourages women to run for office and has encouraged thousands since the 2016 election to run. She Should Run also backs the campaign #250Kby2030. This campaign encourages women to run in hopes that 250,000 will run for office by 2030.
As of now, I may not fit in politics, but I hope that my daughters or granddaughters will see the day where there are at least 217 women in the House and 50 women in the Senate so they know that they fit in.
In 1916, Rankin was voted into the United States House of Representatives and became the first woman to ever serve in Congress. She was voted in by the state of Montana before she was even allowed to vote in an election herself. It wasn’t until 1920 when the women of the United States were able to vote, but until then Rankin served as a role model.
Now, 103 years later, we have the most diverse Congress the nation has ever had with 27.3 percent of the representatives being women. According to National Public Radio, there has been a 15 percent increase of women in our current Congress than ever before.
The U.S. House of Representatives now has 102 women, which is double the number of women who served in 1997. The U.S. Senate now seats 25 women, which makes up 1/4 of the total number in the Senate.
In addition to having a record high of females, Congress now houses the youngest female member, the first Native American woman and the first Muslim woman. Change is happening, but it has taken 230 years.
Since it’s beginning 358 women have served in Congress: 40 in the Senate only, 302 in the House only and 16 who have been in both the House and the Senate. Though this number is very exciting, the fact that there have been 12,343 members of Congress since 1789, means only 2.9 percent of Congress members have been female. 97.1 percent of all congress members have been men.
I get that women are at a 127-year disadvantage, but really, how as a society have we let this happen? How do we fix it? According to Margaret Thatcher, it takes the everyday women.
“Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country.”
Women today can do it. We can do it. We can make the change. With the presidential elections coming up in a year and a half women can take the next step.
According to the LA Times, there are six women who have announced they will be running for U.S. President as of Mar. 14. Six women. This gives me hope for the future and that I may be able to get what I want.
I want to look at my daughter(s) one day and say ‘go and be whatever you want to be’ and actually mean it.
I want to see Congress filled with half men and half women.
I want to continue on the upward improvement of the demographics of Congress, making it more equal.
I don’t want another 100 years to go by and only raise the percentage of women in Congress by less than three percent. So women stand up and ‘run like a girl,’ stick to your beliefs and always hold your head up.
Organizations like Emily’s List and She Should Run help women interested in running have a platform and provide support. Emily’s List helps women apart of the Democratic party run for office and help build campaigns. She Should Run encourages women to run for office and has encouraged thousands since the 2016 election to run. She Should Run also backs the campaign #250Kby2030. This campaign encourages women to run in hopes that 250,000 will run for office by 2030.
As of now, I may not fit in politics, but I hope that my daughters or granddaughters will see the day where there are at least 217 women in the House and 50 women in the Senate so they know that they fit in.