VCC Magazine Winter 2020

V irginia C apitol C onnections , W inter 2020 9 Sunday, 9:30 AM – VPM (Richmond, Charlottesville & Harrisonburg) Sunday, 10 AM – Blue Ridge PBS 15.1 (Roanoke & Lynchburg) Tuesday, 5 PM – WHRO-World (Norfolk) Wednesday, 8:30 PM – Southwest VA PTV 15.2 (Roanoke & Lynchburg) Thursday, 5:30 PM – WHRO-World (Norfolk) Check the schedules of additional stations: ARC TV (Southwest) Norfolk’s Network , TV-48 Suffolk Network , TV-190 Weekly show information is on Facebook— THIS WEEK IN RICHMOND Past shows may be seen on vpm.org/watch/this-week-in-richmond V I E W I N G S C H E D U L E Women of the Past and Present By Margaret Vanderhye WhenVirginia’s first women legislators, Sarah Lee Fain and Helen T. Henderson, departed for Richmond and the General Assembly session in 1924, they were dubbed “legislative debutantes”, given a tea party, and showered with flower petals. This January, 41 women legislators arrived in Richmond with something more valuable: power! Virginia has a female Speaker of the House for the first time in its 400-year history. Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn (HD 41) is joined by Clerk of the House, Suzette Denslow, and House Majority Leader, Del. Charniele Herring (HD 46). Women hold 30 seats in the House but chair fully half of the committees (7 of 14). Women hold 11 of the 40 Virginia Senate seats and chair 4 of the 11 committees, including the powerful Senate Finance Committee. The gains in leadership are even more remarkable considering that barely 100 women have served in the Virginia House in its entire 400-year history, compared with well over 9,000 men. Women have also contributed disproportionately to the diversity in the General Assembly; the legislature today looks more like the whole Commonwealth because of the women who refused to let race, ethnicity, or gender become a barrier to electability. Contrast the diversity of the present membership with the 1984Virginia legislature when Yvonne Miller became the first African-American woman to be seated in the House. She said fellow legislators thought she was a maid and told her so. Nevertheless, she persisted! She subsequently served in the Senate from 1988 to 2012 when she died in office, but with her powerful convictions, dignity—and voice—she served as an inspiration and role model for many women leaders. Ask past and present women legislators to comment on what to expect from the new team, and they will tell you that “women’s leadership” looks a lot like—leadership—with some subtle but important distinctions. Former Delegate Kris Amundson (HD 44) recalled a budget fight early in her House career during which several women delegates of both parties got together while they waited out the “conferees’ brinksmanship tactics”. One of Amundson’s House colleagues at the time, RepublicanAnne “Panny” Rhodes of Richmond, remarked that if the women gathered in the room were given a day’s time and access to the House Appropriations staff, they could get the entire standoff resolved. Amundson’s point is that “women are less Huge Progress In Five Years… Just Think What Can Be Achieved In The Next Five By Jody Wagner What a difference five years has made for women in politics—in 2015 women were vastly under-represented in elected office, both nationally and in Virginia. With women making up 51% of the population, women held less than 20% of the seats in both Federal and state legislatures. That has changed significantly over the past five years. In 2015 • there were 17 women in the US Senate; today there are 25. • therewere 76women (out of 435) in theUSHouse of Representatives; today there are 102. • Virginia had no female Congressional representation; in 2018 we added three Congresswomen. • today the Speaker of the U.S. House is a woman. Virginia has seen even more dramatic change. When the General Assembly convenes in January, there will be 11 women in the State Senate out of 40 Senators, and there will be 30 women in the House of Delegates out of 100! A mere five years ago, there were only 19 female Delegates. Virginia’s Senate will be 25% female and the House will be 30% female. Not only is the number of females serving in the House of Delegates historical, but the Speaker of the House of Delegates will be Eileen Filler-Corn. Speaker-Elect Filler-Corn will be the first woman to hold that role in the Commonwealth’s 400-year history. So why does it matter? I am not a proponent of electing women just because they wear a skirt. We should always strive to elect individuals that will best represent our interests and lead our government forward. Having qualified women in Federal and State government matters for several reasons. First, it doubles the talent pool. I am so encouraged when I look at the qualifications, knowledge and enthusiasm the women elected in Virginia bring to their service. Women representatives tend to better understand and advocate for family issues—promoting education, healthcare, childcare, family leave and care for seniors. See Women of the Past and Present , continued on page 11 See Huge Progress In Five Years , continued on page 11