Today, Aug. 26, marks the 96th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote, guaranteeing our right to be heard as our numbers exceed more than 51 percent of the American population.
As the former Senate president and speaker of the House, we have devoted our adult careers to leadership in New Hampshire – and we’ve learned a lot about women in leadership.
During our four leadership years, we encouraged bipartisan consensus-building over partisan divisiveness, and admired and fostered the talent and leadership skills of many women in office.
We had the rare opportunity to lead in a state that elected the first female majority of any legislature in the history of this nation, as well as electing Jeanne Shaheen, the first woman to ever serve as both governor and senator, our second female governor, Maggie Hassan, and an all-female congressional delegation.
We have seen women legislative leaders in action and witnessed their style of consensus building, bipartisan dedication to getting things done with thoughtful, informed decision-making and compromise.
During our State House work together, we passed a New Hampshire Paycheck Equity law with bipartisan support, as well as laws to guarantee kindergarten for every child, extend affordable health care to 48,000 people, protect women’s health care decisions and set minimum wage guarantees. Yet without federal laws backing our state laws, these protections can (and in some cases have) been eliminated.
That’s why we need a national leader who will protect these hard-won rights. That’s why we support and trust Hillary Clinton to be our next president.
Hillary knows that issues like equal pay, closing the wage gap and paid family leave aren’t just “women’s issues.” They have the long-term effect of growing our economy, making it easier for Americans to be good workers as well as good family members.
Two-thirds of all minimum-wage workers are women (remember Trump wants to abolish the federal minimum wage?), which leaves women paid thousands of dollars less per year and offers a lifetime of impoverishment.
Here in New Hampshire, we no longer have a state minimum wage, and thousands of New Hampshire’s low-income workers’ wages depend upon the federal minimum wage of just $7.25 per hour.
How do these workers pay for quality child care, which is often more expensive than rent and college tuition? Raising the minimum wage will raise all boats.
Hillary will put quality child care and paid family leave within the reach of every family. No one should have to return to work 24 hours after childbirth or choose between their job and caring for a sick family member. And the United States is the only country in the developed world without this guarantee of family leave time.
Like Hillary, we believe that when families are strong, our communities are strong. We’ve seen Hillary’s lifetime of commitment to improving the lives of women and their families.
Why is it that Hillary has remained in the top two of America’s most admired women amid the partisan attacks she has been the target of for decades? Because instead of bombastically seeking the limelight, she has a record of getting the job done by listening, learning and seeking consensus.
When this nation fully recognizes that women’s rights are human rights, Women’s Equality Day will truly be a celebration. We can do a lot to move this country toward greater equality, a stronger economy, and respect for human rights by electing Hillary our first female U.S. president.
(Sylvia Larsen of Concord is a former president of the New Hampshire Senate. Terie Norelli of Portsmouth is a former speaker of the New Hampshire House.)