Women also made slight gains in representation in the U.S. Congress, netting a Senate seat and three House seats, for an identical 17 percent membership in each chamber. At the end of October, the U.S. was 71st in the world for its percentage of women in the lower House, the Monitor reported. “At this rate, it will take us till 2063 to reach parity,” said Marie Wilson, president of the White House Project, which aims to increase the role of women lawmakers. “I mean, come on! We have to speed things up.”

The number of women running for state legislative seats set a record for a presidential election year in 2008, as 2,328 sought office, up from the previous high of 2,302 in 1992. In 2006, even more women ran for state legislator, but more seats are up for election nationwide in non-presidential years, the Monitor noted.

“So 2008 was a record, and it managed to get us from 23.7 percent of women serving in state legislatures to 24.2 percent,” Debbie Walsh, director of the Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics, told the Monitor.

Advocates said Sen. Hillary Clinton’s presidential run and Gov. Sarah Palin’s place on the Republican ticket knocked down barriers and could encourage more women to run for office. Others told the Monitor the tremendous number of young women who volunteered in the 2008 campaign could “turn that activism into running for office themselves someday.”

“Definitely, I think that young girls know that women can go far,” says Katya Ruiz, a high school junior in suburban Orlando. “It’s not a question of knowing that. We know that. And I think we’re very empowered now.”

Her mother, Margarita Koblasz, an instructor in legal studies at the University of Central Florida, adds to the thought: “[That’s] different from the generation that we grew up in and different from the generation that our mothers grew up in. … Now I’ve got a daughter saying of course women can be president, which wasn’t something we could be taught.”

The Colorado Democratic Party recognized International Women’s Day (March 8) and National Women’s History Month by releasing an honor roll of Democratic women from Colorado who are providing leadership to the state at every level.

U.S. Representative Diana DeGette, dean of the Colorado congressional delegation and the national leader on funding for embryonic stem cell research. (Photo)

First Lady Jeanne Ritter, who has worked with educational challenges in Colorado and as a missionary and Peace Corps volunteer in the continent of Africa.

Lt. Governor Barbara O’Brien, who has been a pioneer in representing the needs of children in Colorado, even before she was elected to her new post.

Colorado State Treasurer, Cary Kennedy, who brings a new level of excellence to the office through her experience as a chief budget officer in the state legislature.

Senator Joan Fitz-Gerald, president of the Colorado Senate and president of the national Democratic Leadership Campaign Committee, devoted to good governance at the state level. (Photo)

House Majority Leader Alice Madden, selected as the 2007 Democrat of the Year and one of the prime movers of the Project New West.

Colorado State Party Chair Pat Waak, who worked in Africa, Asia, Latin America with Peace Corps and the U.S. Agency for International Development, before focusing her attention on democratic participation in Colorado. (Photo)

Democratic National Committee member, Debbie Marquez, who devotes her energy to making sure that the voices of Latino and other under represented voters get heard at the national level. (Photo)

Former Denver City Councilwoman Elbra Wedgeworth, who successfully promoted the site selection of Denver for the 2008 Democratic National Committee Convention, while looking after the needs of the people in her district.

“We are proud to honor these and other elected and volunteer officials throughout the state,” the announcement reads on the Colorado Democratic website. “They spend every day working to improve the health and well-being of the citizens of this state.”

A partial honor roll in addition to the above:

State Senate

]]> http://coloradoindependent.com/1528/its-national-womens-history-month/feed 5