I am woman, hear me roar
Helen Reddy, I am Woman
In numbers too big to ignore
And I know too much to go back an’ pretend
‘Cause I’ve heard it all before
And I’ve been down there on the floor
No one’s ever gonna keep me down again
Helen Reddy would be proud. When she released I Am Woman in 1972, it became the anthem for the women’s liberation movement, which broadened the debate on feminism to include issues such as sexuality, family, the workplace, reproductive rights, de facto inequalities, and legal inequalities. The movement also drew attention to the issues of domestic violence and marital rape, engendered rape-crisis centers and women’s shelters, and brought about changes in custody laws and divorce law. In 2019, we’re still singing the anthem, loud and proud, and women have started to take power in the political realm as well.
March is National Women’s History Month, and this year women across the political spectrum have a great deal to celebrate. Here at home, our own organization recently elected a slate of all-women officers to lead the DoCC. But women also took over on the state and federal levels: not only did women make dent in the Congressional glass ceiling in the 2018 Midterm elections, they are also holding more number of seats in state legislatures, Governor’s offices, and in the business world. And so far at least five Democratic women have declared their intent to run for President.
It seems clear that in 2019, Democratic women will be making a difference in American politics in greater numbers than ever before. And it is equally clear that they are just getting started.
DoCC Leadership
The Democrats of Comal County recently elected a slate of officers for 2019 who are all women: Kim Farlow was elected to be the President of the organization; Marilyn Aden is serving as Vice President; Rebecca Gilman is our new Treasurer; and Marcia Schmidt is our Secretary. We are proud to have them at our helm, and know they will do a fantastic job of representing the DoCC in the coming year.
Women in State and Federal Leadership
Take a look at these highlights from the latest Data on Women Leaders from the Pew Research Center:
- For the first time in history, nearly a quarter of the members of the 116th Congress are women–102 Representatives and 25 Senators.
- 106 of the women serving in Congress are Democrats.
- Women make up 25.5% of state senate seats and 29.7% of state house or assembly seats.
- To date, 44 women have served as governors in 30 states.
- The share of women sitting on the boards of Fortune 500 companies has more than doubled, from 9.6% in 1995 to 22.2% in 2017.
- The number of women serving as University presidents has tripled since 1986.
Democratic Women in the 2020 Elections
After Hillary Clinton’s loss in 2016, pundits have wondered whether a women can possibly beat Trump in 2020. Even more have pointed out the many hurdles that women candidates will face in 2020, not the least of which is overcoming the 2016 election. But that has not deterred Democratic women, who are showing a strong turnout thus far in the 2020 Presidential race. Here is a rundown from Politico of the Democratic women who have (so far) declared their candidacy:
Elizabeth Warren
US Senator, Massachusetts
Kamala Harris
U.S. Senator, California
Amy Klobuchar
US Senator, Minnesota
Kirsten Gillibrand
U.S. Senator, New York
Tulsi Gabbard
U.S. Representative, Hawaii
