Women make history in Congress ‘Sweet Sixteen,’ new slate of female U.S. senators, meet for first time

WASHINGTON – Women senators of the 110th Congress met for the first time this week to discuss agendas and welcome new members.

They sat in a tight circle in the office of Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., drinking coffee and calling themselves the “Sweet Sixteen.”

“When I was elected back in 1996, I remember this meeting very well,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said. “It was a much smaller group then, but I remember Barbara Mikulski teaching me how to work the appropriations process, and that was so helpful to hear from her.”

The midterm election yielded historic gains for women in Congress in both the House and the Senate. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is set to become the nation’s first female speaker of the House as the Democrats gained more than the 15 seats they needed to take the majority when Congress convenes in January. And the number of female senators will increase to 16, with Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., joining the ranks.

The women’s caucus gathered to give its new colleagues some guidance on what they can expect, said Collins. All were in attendance except for Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and McCaskill.

The closed-door “power workshop” helped to “give us a greater focus and strength on some of the issues we all care about – whether it’s on women and work or family issues, but also across the board,” said Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine.

Both senators agreed that one of the best things about the group of female senators is their diversity.

“I think the interesting part of it is that we all represent different committees and we have a chance to share our strengths and build support on different issues,” Snowe said.

Until the new Congress, Snowe chairs the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee and Collins chairs the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, but other senators represent committees ranging from Environment and Public Works to Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.

“We don’t think alike, and obviously the female senators span the ideological spectrum,” Collins said. “I, for one, always resist being pigeon-holed as working on ‘women’s issues.’ That’s one reason why I’m chairman of Homeland Security. Because I think every issue affects women.”

When the Democrats take control of the Senate in January Snowe and Collins will lose their chairmanships and will become the senior Republican members of their committees.

Research shows how women change the agenda, said Barbara Palmer, assistant professor and affiliate faculty with the Women and Politics Institute at American University. “Women don’t vote differently than their male counterparts,” she said. “But different things get talked about.”

For example, in the early 1990s when there was a large influx of women into Congress, they were able to get former President Bush to sign the Family and Medical Leave Act as well as provide more money for breast cancer research, she said.

“Women bring different perspective and life experiences to the job, and I think that’s very valuable,” Collins said.

Maine women have set a standard for female leadership.

The late Margaret Chase Smith, a Maine Republican, was the first woman to serve in both the House and the Senate, as well as the first woman elected to the Senate without first having been elected or appointed to fill a vacant Senate seat, according to the Congressional Research Service. Smith’s 24 years of Senate service is still a record for a woman.

“I was inspired by Senator Margaret Chase Smith when I was growing up,” Collins said. “I think that it’s valuable to have more women in the Senate, and I think it’s important in terms of being role models for girls and young women growing up.”

Palmer agrees. “There is clearly a role model effect here,” she said. “Nancy Pelosi becoming speaker will have a huge impact. That visual is really important.”

Today, Maine is one of two states whose senators are both women. The other is California.

“I want little girls growing up in rural Maine to know that they too could grow up to be a United States senator,” Collins said. “It really matters to me to send that message, just as I think the presence of more women in the Senate is important in terms of raising aspirations of girls who are growing up.”