Hear about the American women who persisted and achieved historic “firsts” in the U.S. Congress.
Although 50 percent of the total U.S. population is female, women represent only 23 percent of elected officials at the U.S. Capitol. Recall that 127 years passed before a woman won a seat in Congress and it becomes apparent that those first female politicians needed to marshal unwavering conviction and resiliency to persuade skeptical, sometimes hostile, constituents to vote them into office—women such as:
- Jeanette Rankin of Montana, the first woman elected to Congress
- Margaret Chase Smith, an independently-mind Representative from Maine and the first woman whose name was advance for the presidency at a national convention
- Patsy Takemoto Mink, who decided to run for office after a lifetime of discrimination as both a woman and a person of Asian descent and who sponsored, co-authored, and passed the landmark Title IX legislation
- Brooklyn, New York’s Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress and the first to run for president
And many more!
IMAGE: Margaret Chase Smith, 1964 SMITH LIBRARY/AP
REVIEWERS OF THIS EXPERIENCE SAID:
“The presenter was fabulous. Her voice and personality were a breathe of fresh air in an insane world. And she gave me so much information and inspired me.”
“She is enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Her presentation hit an emotional nerve in me, and I was choked up during much of it. The videos interspersed in her lecture also added so much to the lecture. Loved it!”
“…the program introduced me into a segment of learning in which I am woefully ignorant. Yes, I am familiar with several of the names of the women, but I never experienced such a seamless look at the impact they had. Great Job!”
Road Scholar program, March 2025
