Editor: It was all about women in the Nov. 6 election.
Women voted and were elected in record numbers. There was a woman wave, especially on the Democratic side. We agree with the Nov. 10 Times-Tribune editorial (“Hear us now? Women rise”) that their successes inspire other women to run.
Four Pennsylvania Democratic women were elected to Congress. The state has an all-male, 18-member congressional delegation. Only seven Pennsylvania women have served in Congress and never more than two concurrently.
Sending four women to Washington is a victory for women in our state since women are chronically underrepresented in all state governance. There are only seven women in the state Senate — 14 percent — and 42 women in the state House, 20.7 percent. Locally, the last woman from Lackawanna County to serve in the state House was Marion Munley 54 years ago.
Because of this stark inequity, Pennsylvania earns a grade of “F” on the 2018 Gender Parity Index, placing us 49th in the nation. Only Mississippi has a worse score.
The midterm results move Pennsylvania toward more equitable leadership on the state level with a gain of four to six seats for women in the Senate and nine or 10 in the House.
That’s a positive trend that we hope continues. The two local political parties can help by nominating women for the upcoming special election for the vacant state House seat in the 114th District.
Progressive Women of NEPA is a registered political action committee. We recruit, train, fund and help elect women to political office. We invite women to join our organization, consider running for office and to encourage women to take action. A campaign training seminar, Ready to Run Northeast Pennsylvania, will take place Saturday at the University of Scranton, starting at 9 a.m.
WENDY JONES, DICKSON CITY
JAN KELLY, MOOSIC
BOARD MEMBERS, PROGRESSIVE WOMEN OF NEPA
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