Part of Kennedy’s Legacy: Senate Women Leading

Politico posted a great article about how women senators, despite being only 17% of votes, are beginning to wield real power due to seniority and committee chairmanships. Lisa Lerer quotes Barbara Mikulski as saying:

Women senators are not a caucus; we’re a force.

and Diane Feinstein:

The biggest change is that we have gained seniority. We’ve shown that we can be effective; therefore, you now have women that are in leadership positions or chairmen of committees — and particularly some big committees.

They’re using that power to get results on women’s issues. As Lerer reports:

Since 1992, Senate women have increased funding for breast cancer research by 700 percent, child care by 68 percent and small-business lending by 86 percent, and they have tripled federal funding for domestic violence shelters…

Lerer reports:

When Mikulski first came into the Senate [in 1986], she sought out mentors to help her navigate its complicated and often arcane rules. She turned to former Democratic Sens. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and Paul Sarbanes of Maryland, calling them her “Sir Galahads.” …Kennedy and Sarbanes “showed me now to get on the best committees.”

Now, it’s Mikulski and other women who are helping newer women to succeed. Lerer reports:

As unofficial “dean” of the women’s caucus, [Mikulski] established a round table for new female colleagues, … wrote a guidebook for the Democratic women, … [and] still hosts “power workshops” for new female members of both parties. Her staff organizes regular bi-partisan dinners where the female senators get together… To a large degree, the women of the Senate have hung together. While they often don’t agree on issues… they’ve maintained a strong bond.

Women working with women can accomplish amazing things!