LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAU Women in the Wisconsin Legislature, 2021— A Summary and Historical List Louisa Kamps legislative analyst WISCONSIN HISTORY PROJECT • January 2021, Volume 3, Number 6 © 2021 Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau One East Main Street, Suite 200, Madison, Wisconsin 53703 http://legis.wisconsin.gov/lrb • 608-504-5801 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA. hen the 2021 Wisconsin State Legislature convened on January 4, 2021, 41 women took their seats as members. This was the largest class of women legislators in state history. Women now hold 31 percent of the seats in the Wlegislature. Previously, the largest number of women to serve in a session was 37, a num- ber reached in the 1989 and 2003 sessions. Including those serving in the senate and the assembly today, a total of 152 women have now been seated in the Wisconsin Legislature. Among all states, Wisconsin currently has the 22nd-highest proportion of women serv- ing in its legislature.1 This paper celebrates the service, achievements, and leadership of Wisconsin women legislators. Women in the assembly When Mildred Barber, Helen Brooks, and Helen Thompson took office in January 1925 as “assemblymen”—members of the assembly were formally renamed “representatives” in 1969 2—they became the first women to serve in the Wisconsin Legislature. Until the 1970s, no more than three women at a time served in the assembly, and during some sessions, no women served in the assembly at all.3 Of the 31 women elected to serve in 2021–22, 10 are in their first session. This is the highest number of newly elected wom- en representatives to serve in a session. The previous record for newly elected women serving in the assembly, set in the 1993 session, was nine. The highest number of women ever to serve together in the assembly is 33, a record reached during the 1989 biennium. Representative Christine Sinicki, in her 12th term, has served longer than any other woman in the assembly. Representative Annette Polly Williams, who served 15 sessions, from 1981 to 2009, served longer than any woman representative in Wisconsin history. When Representative Susan Engeleiter took office in January 1975, she was the youngest woman ever elected to the Wisconsin Legislature; she was 22 years old. Women in the senate In 1975, Senator Kathryn Morrison became the first woman to serve in the Wisconsin Senate. When Senators Melissa Agard, Joan Ballweg, Mary Felzkowski, and Kelda Helen Roys took their seats in January 2021, the total number of women who have served in the senate increased to 35. Of those 35 women, 25 had legislative experience in the assembly. Each of the 10 women serving in the 2021 Senate previously served in the assembly. Senator Alberta Darling, beginning her 15th session in the senate, is the longest-serving woman senator in Wisconsin history. Senator Darling is likewise the longest-serving 1. “Women in State Legislatures 2021,” CAWP (Center for American Women in Politics), accessed January 13, 2021, https://cawp.rutgers.edu. 2. Ch. 199, Laws of 1969. 3. “Wisconsin Women Legislators—A Historical List,” Wisconsin Briefs 15, no. 3 (Madison, WI: Legislative Reference Bu- reau, January 2015). Women in the Wisconsin Legislature, 2021—A Summary and Historical List 1 woman legislator in Wisconsin history, having also served in the assembly during the 1989 and 1991 sessions. During the 1999, 2001, and 2015 legislative sessions, 11 women were seated in the senate, the highest number ever to serve there together. Women in legislative leadership After winning more seats in the assembly and the senate in the 1970s, women began making gains in legislative leadership. Representative Louise Tesmer served as deputy speaker in 1981. In 1985, Senator Susan Engeleiter was the first woman to serve as senate minority leader; she served in that capacity for two sessions. In the assembly, in 1987, Representative Betty Jo Nelsen became the first woman to serve as minority leader. In 1998, Representative Shirley Krug became the second woman elected to serve as assem- bly minority leader. In the 2003 session, after serving as minority leader since January 2000, Senator Mary Panzer became the first woman to serve as senate majority leader. Senator Judith Robson became the third woman to serve as senate minority leader after she was elected to that position in November 2004. In 2007, Robson became the second woman to serve as senate majority leader. In March 2014, Representative Pat Strachota was the first woman to serve as assembly majority leader. In 2015, Senator Mary Lazich served as senate president, becoming the first woman to serve as presiding officer of ei- ther legislative house, and Senator Jennifer Shilling became senate minority leader. After Senator Shilling resigned from the legislature in June 2020, Senator Janet Bewley was selected to replace her as senate minority leader. Senator Bewley was selected again to serve as senate minority leader in the 2021 session. As their ranks grew in the legislature, women also gained more seats on influential committees. In 1976, Senator Kathryn Morrison became the first woman appointed to serve on the Joint Committee on Finance, considered one of the most powerful com- mittees in the legislature. In the 1983 session, Representative Mary Lou Munts became the first woman to co-chair the Joint Committee on Finance. And since then, four other women have co-chaired the committee: Representative Barbara Linton, Representative Kitty Rhoades, Senator Alberta Darling, and Senator Lena Taylor. Senator Darling served as co-chair of the committee during the 2003, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019 sessions, longer than any other woman legislator. The Joint Committee on Finance currently has seven female members: Senators Joan Ballweg, Kathleen Bernier, Mary Felzkowski, and LaTonya Johnson and Representatives Amy Loudenbeck, Greta Neubauer, and Jessie Ro- driguez. Since 2011, Representative Samantha Kerkman has served as co-chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. The following tables compile the names of all women who have served in the Wis- consin Legislature. Table 1 lists the leadership roles of women currently seated in the legislature. Tables 2 and 3 list all women members alphabetically by house and indicate 2 Wisconsin History Project, vol. 3, no. 6 each member’s party, district, occupational background, and sessions of service. Table 4 lists the members serving in each session. ■ For more information on the legislative careers and backgrounds of women in Wisconsin, see “Knocking on the Door: Women in the Wisconsin Legislature,” Wisconsin Blue Book 2017–18 (Madison, WI: Legislative Reference Bureau, 2017), 298. Table 1. Women in leadership roles, 2021–2022 Name Party House Leadership positions Agard, Melissa Dem. Senate ∙ Senate Committee on Housing, Commerce and Trade, ranking minority member ∙ Joint Legislative Audit Committee, ranking minority member ∙ Minority caucus vice-chair Ballweg, Joan1 Rep. Senate ∙ Senate Committee on Agriculture and Tourism, chair ∙ Senate Committee on Human Services, Children and Families, vice-chair ∙ Joint Committee on Finance, member Bernier, Kathleen Rep. Senate ∙ Senate Committee on Education, vice-chair ∙ Senate Committee on Elections, Election Process Reform and Ethics, chair ∙ Joint Committee on Finance, member ∙ Majority caucus vice-chair Bewley, Janet Dem. Senate ∙ Minority leader Billings, Jill Dem. Assembly ∙ Assembly Committee on Children and Families, ranking minority member ∙ Assembly Committee on Substance Abuse and Prevention, ranking minority member Brandtjen, Janel Rep. Assembly ∙ Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections, chair ∙ Assembly Committee on Government Accountability and Oversight, vice-chair Cabral-Guevara, Rachael Rep. Assembly ∙ Assembly Committee on Mental Health, vice-chair Cabrera, Marisabel Dem. Assembly ∙ Assembly Committee on Judiciary, ranking minority member Darling, Alberta Rep. Senate ∙ Senate Committee on Education, chair ∙ Senate Committee on Elections, Election Process Reform and Ethics, vice-chair Dittrich, Barbara Rep. Assembly ∙ Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection, chair ∙ Assembly Committee on Workforce Development, vice-chair Duchow, Cindi Rep. Assembly ∙ Assembly Committee on Financial Institutions, chair ∙ Majority caucus vice-chair Emerson, Jodi Dem. Assembly ∙ Assembly Committee on Government Accountability and Oversight, ranking minority member Felzkowski, Mary Rep. Senate ∙ Senate Committee on Government Operations, Legal Review and Consumer Protection, vice-chair ∙ Senate Committee on Insurance, Licensing and Forestry, chair ∙ Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy, vice-chair ∙ Joint Committee on Finance, member Women in the Wisconsin Legislature, 2021—A Summary and Historical List 3 Table 1. Women in leadership roles, 2021–2022, continued Name Party House Leadership positions Hesselbein, Dianne Dem. Assembly ∙ Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities, ranking minority member ∙ Assembly Committee on Insurance, ranking minority member ∙ Joint Legislative Audit Committee, ranking minority member ∙ Assistant minority leader Johnson, LaTonya Dem. Senate ∙ Senate Committee on Human Services, Children and Families, ranking minority member ∙ Joint Committee on Finance, member Kerkman, Samantha Rep. Assembly ∙ Assembly