Jan. 7, 2015
It’s 2015 and in the entire history of the U.S. Senate, only 44 women have ever served as senators. Especially with numbers like that, we have to wonder: over the decades and with each new Congress, what has it been like for women in the Senate? Breadwinning and Caregiving Director Liza Mundy interviewed dozens of current and former female senators and their aides for “The Secret History of Women in the Senate,” published this week in Politico. Across the spectrum from subtle condescension to open harassment, the challenges faced by female senators have always included various forms of sexism. “Even today,” Mundy writes, “the women of the Senate are confronted with a kind of floating, often subtle, but corrosive sexism, a sense of not belonging that is both pervasive and so counter to the narrative of real, if stubbornly slow, progress that many are reluctant to acknowledge this persistent secret.”
In a gripping series of insights and behind-the-scenes anecdotes, Mundy uncovers significant moments from this “secret” history, showing that along with a narrative of sexism, the history of women in the Senate is also a story of their collaboration with each other and their determination to rise through the ranks of leadership.