THE YEAR OF THE WOMAN

RECOGNIZING THE EARLY FOUNDATIONS FOR THE “YEAR OF THE WOMAN” 

Many political pundits have labeled 2018 the year of the woman.  After all, the recent mid-term elections saw women demand a larger role in the political process than in any year in American history.  Two hundred and fifty-five women ran for office in the two major parties across America. Nearly half of them won.

An estimated 113 million Americans cast ballots in the first nationwide election of the Trump presidency, according to data compiled by The Associated Press. That’s 30 million more people than who participated in the 2014 midterms. This represents the highest raw vote total for a non-presidential election in U.S. history and the highest overall voter participation rate in a midterm election in a half century.  A number of these new voters were young women. 

Many believe President Donald Trump was responsible for this increased interest of women in the political process.  In January 2017 the Women’s March on Washington and in numerous other cities sought to protest his sexual misconduct and to highlight that women’s rights are human rights. The #Me Too Movementtook off shortly after. Both events laid the groundwork forwomen deciding to run for office and to get involved in the election process in 2018.

Will these election results have an effect on the legislative process? Studies have shown that women behave differently when elected to office than men. Women are more interested in family issues and are more likely to build coalitions and tocompromise. These tendencies will be a welcome change to many Americans.

As the election results played out, I could not help but think about those women that came before and built a foundation for the stunning surge of women into the political arena. I had spent much of the week after the election reviewing documents from my basement to pass on to my Quakertown New Jersey home town and the Quaker Monthly Meeting situated there.

I came across the history of a Quaker ancestor, Sarah Hampton Lundy, married in the “Province of East New Jersey” in 1768.Quakers believed in the equality of men and women in all affairs.  On several occasions Sarah left her family on horsebackto travel to other Quaker Meetings throughout New Jersey, NewYork, New England and Canada.  She wanted to share her religious experiences with other women of her faith. Quaker women were taught to read and write at an early age which expanded their ability to communicate beyond hearth and home.

My paternal grandmother was a product of this Quaker heritage.  In order to attend classes as a child, she would leave the farm of her birth and walk several miles to the train station. At the termination point, she would walk another half mile to the local Academy where she was one of five high school graduates. After the death of her Husband, the local New Jersey Tax Collector, she was re-elected multiple terms to serve in this position.

Quaker women were instrumental in the abolition, temperance, and suffrage movements.  Many of them helped draft the 1848Declaration of Sentiments” in Seneca Falls New York, which came to be known as the Women’s Declaration of Independence.  Finally, after a hard-fought series of votes in the U.S. Congress and in state legislatures, the 19th Amendment became part of the U.S. Constitution on August 26, 1920. The Amendment states, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."

The Quaker college, Oberlin, was a true pathbreaker in American higher education. In 1837 this institution was the first school to accept not onlywomen along with men but black students as well. Prior to that time, wealthy women had educational opportunities, but they were in the nature of finishing schools, not liberal arts institutions. 

Closer to home in Washington County, I recently had the honor of writing the profile of Mary Drake Korsmeyer, Esq. for the Washington County Bar Association.  Ms. Korsmeyer was the first woman partner at the law offices of Peacock Keller and the managing partner at the firm for three years.  

She related to me her early employment experiences as a security analyst in New York City.  Upon graduating from Cornell University with an excellent academic record, she was offered a position at half the salary of the new male employees. She was told in no uncertain terms that because she was a woman she would not be promoted.

Ms. Korsmeyer went on to law school and an exemplary career, but she never forgot this episode of blatant discrimination.  She was a charter member of the Zonta Club of Washington County and helped young women entering the business world at every opportunity.

Many of us can recall similar stories involving family and friends that helped pave the way for the year of the woman in 2018.  Now is the time to share these examples of courage and foresight that made the recent giant strides in women’s equalityand political involvement possible.

The next presidential election in 2020 will mark 100 years since women were granted the right to vote. One would expect, that to celebrate this milestone, a new Year of the Woman will be created, with even greater involvement in political campaigns and elections.  The ultimate prize, electing the first woman president, remains in play.

When celebrating the most recent milestones for women, it is important to remember the progress that has been achieved by women of past generations. As stated by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a Quaker, American suffragist, social activist, abolitionist, and leading figure of the early women's rights movement: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal”.