Why Do We Need More Women in Government? Here's Why

Although there's a record number of women in Congress this year, only 16% of Congressional members are female. Even the Senate's Congressional Research Service acknowledges, "The percentage of voting female representation in Congress (16.8%) is slightly lower than averages of female representation in other countries."

When we elect a Senator or Representative from our region, we do so believing that he or she will have the best interests of the constituents in mind. Geographically speaking, those interests may be very diverse. Farm subsidies matter to thoe in agricultural regions, and tax incentives for new businesses matter in urban areas that have lost industry and are trying to attract companies looking to relocate to that city.

But when we elect a woman to Congress, we have an advocate for all women working for us, because many of the basic needs of women aren't site-specific. Most women have to worry about health care and costs that are higher because of gender; many find they're stuck in a loophole, not poor enough to qualify for care under one program but with insufficient earnings to pay for needed diagnostic services.

The senior Democratic woman in the Senate, Barbara Mikulski of Maryland,  is an advocate for all women. She stands as proof of why we need more women in government. She's responsive to our needs. She's watching our backs. She understands the pressing issues women face. If you didn't catch this in last week's news (and that's understandable, because there wasn't a lot of media coverage), her amendment to expand health care for women and get insurers to pay for preventive care and screenings for women was passed by the Senate with a vote of 69-31.

Ironically, two amendments put forth by female senators were on the floor; Mikulski's was one, and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) proposed the other. NPR has an interesting article that captures the flavor of the  camaraderie surrounding these "dueling amendments" and describes how just before the vote, Mikulski exhorted her fellow Senators to pay attention and ""Vote for Mikulski, don't vote for Murkowski, and please on this one, get it straight."