It wasn't until 1920 that the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote. Although it's not surprising that it took this long to see a female legislator elected to lead her party in Congress, women's leadership days were long overdue.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was elected Thursday as House minority leader. She is the first female leader of either party in Congress.
Michigan's female lawmakers are making strides as well.
State representative-elect Dianne Byrum, D-Onondaga, is set to lead her Democratic caucus. Byrum's 12 years of lawmaking experience will prove useful to the minority party. She is leaving the state Senate after two terms, previously serving two House terms.
"I'm looking forward to the challenges," Byrum said earlier this month. "With term limits, I'm coming in with a freshman class, 20 members on the Democratic side alone. That's going to be exciting to be a part of that."
And Byrum is not alone. State Rep. Mary Waters, D-Detroit, also won her second state House election and will serve as House Democratic floor leader, the second-highest position in the party caucus.
Both Byrum and Waters were elected by a unanimous vote, which illustrates that women are steadily gaining the respect in politics they've deserved. When they begin the 2003-04 legislative term in January they will face a difficult challenge in carrying the Democratic voice - House Democrats carry 47 seats in comparison to the 63 seats for Republicans.
Their election as House leaders brings about a breaking of the glass ceiling that is so often faced by women in politics.
By the late 1800s, almost 50 years of progress provided women advancements in property rights, employment and educational opportunities, divorce and child custody laws. And increased social freedoms. In the early 1900s, a push for a female vote came to reality through a coalition of suffragists, reform-minded politicians and women's social-welfare organizations. However, the push for women in office has been slow.
So it is about time women such as Pelosi, Byrum and Waters are given positions never before held by women - this January, they will have the opportunity to show their strengths.
"I've been waiting over 200 years," Pelosi told The Associated Press. "Hopefully, we can find a great deal of common ground with Republicans" across a range of issues.
We agree. Hopefully, one of those issues will be Congress' majority party finally recognizing the potential of its female leaders and treating them with a similar respect and admiration.
