Maryland Women’s History Month

Each March, in honor of Maryland Women’s History Month, and in conjunction with the Maryland State Department of Education, a special publication is produced to recognize the contributions of women to the State of Maryland, the Maryland Women’s History Project Resource Kit.

This year, the Maryland Women’s Heritage Trail has identified and researched more than 150 sites across the state that reflect the accomplishments of diverse historical and contemporary women to all areas of society. The project will include a guidebook and map of historic sites. The Heritage Trail is the only one of its kind in the nation, and has been endorsed by the National Women’s History Project and the National Association for Multicultural Education. This project is coordinated by the Maryland State Department of Education, the Maryland Commission for Women, and the Friends of the Maryland Commission for Women.

Contact the Maryland Commission for Women to obtain the Resource Kit and to get more information about the program: dlmcw_dhr@maryland.gov, or call 410-767-3049

To commemorate this Election Year, check your knowledge of women in political office in the United States, internationally, and in Maryland.
Source: Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University; The White House Project)

NATIONALLY

1. As of 2007, 477 members of Congress are male (84%) and 88 are female (16%). [3] The global average for female representation at the parliamentary level in 2007 was 17.0%.[4]
2. As of the 110th Congress, there is an all-time high of 16 women serving in the 100-person body, including freshmen senators Claire McCaskill and Amy Klobuchar.
3. Currently 42 members (9.5%) of the House are black. There are currently no African-American Senators; Barack Obama, the most recent, resigned from his position on November 16, 2008, after winning the Presidential election of 2008.
4. Women of color comprise only 3.4% of Congress, and there are no women of color in the Senate. Jeanette Rankin (Montana) was the first woman elected to the House of Representatives – 1916; Hattie Caraway (Arkansas) was the first woman elected to the U. S. Senate – 1932; Shirley Chisholm (New York) was the first African American congresswoman – 1969; Patsy Mink (Hawaii) was the first Asian American woman elected to Congress – 1965.
5. The United States ranks 60th in the world in terms of women’s representation in elected national legislatures, out of 180 countries that directly elect representatives.
6. Of the nearly 600 people who have served in the U. S. President’s Cabinet since President Washington’s term, only 29 have been women. The first female Cabinet officer was Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, appointed in 1933 by Franklin Roosevelt.
7. In a 2003 national U.S. Gallup poll, 92% of people surveyed said that they would vote for a qualified female for president.

INTERNATIONALLY

1. Thirteen women currently serve as elected leaders of their countries: Christina Fernandez deKirchner of Argentina, V. Michelle Bachelet of Chile, Tarja Halonen of Finland, Angela Merkel of Germany, Pratibha Patil of India, Mary McAleese of Ireland, Dalia Itzik of Israel, Vaira Viike-Freiberga of Latvia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, Maria Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Phillippines, Micheline Calmy-Rey of Switzerland, Pearlette Louisy of St. Lucia and Yulia Tymonshenko of the Ukraine.

 
STATEWIDE

1. Twenty-nine women have been or are currently serving as the governor of a U.S. state, including two in an acting capacity, and three more are expected to become governor in early 2009. Currently, 11 states have women Governors. A total of 26 states have never had a female governor.
2. Of the 7,362 current members of state legislatures, 22.3% (1,647) are women and 4% (298) are women of color.

1. What percentage of current Maryland State Senators and members of the House of Delegates are women?
(a) ___43% (b)___33% (c)___23%

2. Since 1990 the percentage of Maryland women in the State Legislature has (a) increased ___ or (b) decreased ___?

3. Maryland ranks where out of the 50 states in percentage of women in state legislatures?
(a)___4rd (b) ___15th (c)___ 28th

4. How many Governors of Maryland have been women?
(a) ___3 (b) ___1 (c) ___0

5. How many Lieutenant Governors of Maryland have been women?
(a) ___3 (b)___1 (c) ___0

6. How many women from Maryland have served in the U. S. Senate?
(a)___5 (b)___3 (c) ___1

7. How many Maryland women have served in the U. S. House of Representatives?
(a)___7 (b)___10 (c)___12

8. Name 5 Maryland women who have served in the U. S. Congress:

ANSWERS:

1. 33%; 62/188 total –15/47 in the Senate and 47/141in House of Delegates
2. Increased from 22.9% to 33%
3. 3rd in the nation
4. 0 governors
5. 1 Lieutenant Governor (Kathleen Kennedy Townsend)
6. 1 U.S. Senator — Barbara Mikulski
7. 7 members of the House of Representatives
8. Senate – Barbara Mikulski (1987-present)
U.S. House of Representatives – Connie Morella (1987-2003; Helen Delich Bentley(1985-1995); Beverly Byron(1979-1993); Barbara Mikulski (1977-1987); Marjorie Holt (1973-1987); Gladys Noon Spellman (1975-1981); Katharine Edgar Byron (1941- 1943)…(mother-in-law of Beverly Byron; won a special election to fill a vacancy caused by her husband’s death)