Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton released the following statement on the Wisconsin Women’s Council Women in the Wisconsin Legislature, 2009 report just issued:

“When the new legislature convenes in January, fewer women will be seated than in the previous session for the third consecutive time.  Progress for women in politics was once said to be glacial; today we see that, in reality, it proceeds at the pace of a glacier in an age of global warming in Wisconsin.  We are ranked 31st of the 50 states for representation of women in our legislature; our neighbor Minnesota comes in at #4. 

Our dismal ranking reflects a litany of lost opportunities for better policy and leadership in government, and for a stronger economy, that are the hallmark of bodies that more closely approximate gender equity in representation.  It is time we examine the conditions that drive too many women from office and too few to seek election, and work across partisan lines to remedy this situation that undermines Wisconsin’s determination to be the best state in the nation for women to serve, build a career and raise a family.”

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