All the Senate Ladies, All the Senate Ladies

This week, Diane Sawyer sat down with 19/20 women Senators  and Senators-elect in the 113th Congress. 20 women in the Senate is a record number – an EMILY's List women achieved even more firsts. Tammy Baldwin, Mazie Hirono and Elizabeth Warren are all the first women to represent their states in the Senate. Tammy Baldwin is the first openly gay person to serve in the Senate. Mazie Hirono is the first Asian-American woman to serve in the Senate. And Jeanne Shaheen, who EMILY’s List helped elect in 2008, is now a part of New Hampshire’s all-female delegation – the first in the nation.
 
The longer interview will air in January, but Diane asked the Senators about their thoughts on things like women in power and the fiscal cliff.  Claire McCaskill commented, “I think, by nature, that we [women] are less confrontational and more collaborative…Not only do we want to work in a bipartisan way, we DO it.” More telling:
 

“I think that if we were in charge of the Senate and of the Administration that we would have a budget deal by now,” Senator Susan Collins posited.
 
“Do you all think that?” Diane asked the group.
 
The answer was an resounding “YES!”

 
And these firsts and milestones are not the only change these women are hoping to effect. As we showed in this summer’s Impact Project, Democratic women have been the most progressive voting bloc in Congress for over 20 years. From Equal Pay to Title IX to Access to Women’s Healthcare, Democratic women have had an unmistakable influence on the outcome of national policy.
 
The Center for American Progress’ new video (including our own Amy Dacey!), “Our Voices, Our Agenda” shows just what happens when women vote and when women are elected. Watch now!