These 10 Women Put Cracks in the Political Glass Ceiling, Too [View all]
These 10 Women Put Cracks in the Political Glass Ceiling, Too
Hillary Clinton made history last week when she became the first-ever woman to be nominated as a presidential candidate by a major party. She touched on the place she’s taking in history and what it means for women, in her acceptance speech, saying:
Tonight, we’ve reached a milestone in our nation’s march toward a more perfect union: the first time that a major party has nominated a woman for president. Standing here… as my mother’s daughter and my daughter’s mother, I’m so happy this day has come. I’m happy for grandmothers and little girls and everyone in between. I’m happy for boys and men–because when any barrier falls in America it clears the way for everyone. After all, when there are no ceilings, the sky’s the limit. So let’s keep going, let’s keep going until every one of the 161 million women and girls across America has the opportunity she deserves to have.
Regardless of who wins the upcoming presidential election, this event represents a momentous milestone in not only feminist history, but America’s history. However, women’s representation in government remains dismal in our current political landscape even as a woman takes on an unprecedented challenge in this year’s president election. Even now, women represent less than 20% of the National Congress and fill only 25% of the seats in state legislatures across the country.
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Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902)
Elizabeth Cady Stanton is widely regarded as one of the founders of the women’s rights movement and was a passionate activist throughout her life. Originally a member of the abolitionist movement, she was inspired to change her focus to women’s right after she and the other women delegates at the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention were excluded from the proceedings. In 1848 she organized the Seneca Falls convention, where the attendees prepared their “Declaration of Sentiments,” which among many things called for women’s right to vote.
While never serving in a political office, Stanton was the first woman to run for Congress. In 1866 she ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in her home state of New York. Despite having the support of many women in New York, their inability to vote led her to only receiving 24 of the 12,000 votes cast. Despite this small number, her campaign represented the start of women’s push for a greater role in politics.
victoria woodhull
susanna salter
jeannette rankin
nellie tayloe ross
hattie wyatt caraway
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frances perkins
shirley chisholm
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sandraday o'connor
geraldine ferraro
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These 10 Women Put Cracks in the Political Glass Ceiling, Too