Kassidy Lambert. Women in Politics

History of Women in Politics.

Politics is an important topic in America and for Women it was not always a right. Women had to fight for equal rights in Politics and they worked really hard to achieve the rights women now have today. Sometimes people’s opinions are divided, and it tends to get messy when talking about Politics. Women have not always had the right to vote or run for office and hold an office. I think it is important that women have the right to vote and run for an office if they desire to. Many of the issues surrounding women in politics stem from the United States. Other countries were ahead of the U.S. in this aspect. For instance, many other countries have multiple women who are in power.

A change in the way women were seen and treated started with the suffrage movement which started in 1848 and concluded in 1920 when the Nineteenth Amendment was signed that allowed women the right to vote. Women have been fighting for equal rights for along time and it started a long time ago. In 1848 the first women’s rights convention in the U.S. took place in Seneca Falls, New York. The meeting was convened by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott and others active in the anti-slavery movement, it resulted in a Declaration of Sentiments modeled on the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration demanded a variety of rights for women, including suffrage.

In 1866 Elizabeth Cady Stanton was also the first woman to run for the U.S. House of Representatives, even though women were not eligible to vote at this time. Stanton ran as an independent from New York State, receiving 24 votes of 12,000 that were cast. In 1872 Victoria Woodhull, a stockbroker, and publisher, ran for president of the United States on the Equal Rights Party ticket. Although she did not win, she was able to run which made her the first woman to ever run for president. In 1887 Susanna Salter was the first woman to be elected mayor in the United States in Argonia, Kansas. In 1916 Jeannette Rankin became the first woman elected to Congress, representing Montana. Women were allowed to run for an elected office before they were able to vote which was not allowed until 1920 with the 19th Amendment. The feminist movement also helped propel this issue into the light to garner more attention and change the policies in place.

While the number of women holding offices has increased in the United States; the country is still behind compared to many other countries.When it comes to women’s representation in national legislatures, the United States’ rank has sunk from 41 in the world in 1997 to 101 in 2017.1 Women currently hold 19.3 percent of seats in the House of Representatives and 21.0 percent in the Senate. Which means the United States is almost 4 percent below the world average of 23.3 percent.

One issue surrounding the lack of Women in Politics is that we do not have as many women running for offices as we do men. Many studies have shown this to be true. Recruiting women candidates, disseminating information about the electoral enviorment and working with women to decrease their anxiety about campaigning can help change the gender gap in our society and increase the number of women we will see representing a political office. ³

Lynn Spruill, Mayor of Starkville Experience in Politics.

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I decided to get a personal take on this issue by interviewing the Mayor of Starkville. Mayor Spruill is a Starkville Native. Mayor Lynn Spruill has been in Government work for a long time now. Spruill is a former Naval Officer and Pilot for Delta Airlines. She first started her political career in Addison, Texas ad a councilman and then later became mayor of Addison. She moved back to Starkville in 2004 where she became Chief administrative officer for the city, and she ran for the Mayor election in 2017 which she won. She has spent 30 years in Government and Political work. ⁵. I decided to get some personal insight on this topic. So I Interviewed Mayor Lynn Spruill of Starkville to get her take on the years she has spent in her career as a politician and the Government work, she has done. Mayor Lynn Spruill has spent over 30 years in Politics and Government work combined so she was the perfect person to interview.

It is obvious that as a society we have made progress as far as women in politics goes; but Mayor Spruill believes that there is still more to be done. We as a country are not exactly where we need to be as far as women holding offices. One thing Spruill believes will help is for Women to put their names on ballots if they wish to. She also believes it is important to watch the news to know what is taking place in present politics locally and globally. ⁶

I asked Mayor Spruill what she would say to a younger generation of females that might want to pursue a career in Politics but might be afraid to face some backlash. Her response was to 'do it' she said research some things you are interested in, and find what it is you exactly it is your interest in politics is. She said the 'world is so vast with endless opportunities'. ⁷

Email me at krl334@msstate.edu with any questions