After serving in the Illinois Legislature and as Recorder of Deeds of Cook County, Carol Moseley-Braun made history in 1992 by becoming the first African American woman ever elected to the United States Senate. Since her election, Senator Moseley-Braun has worked tirelessly for the economic rights of women, and courageously against the punitive effects of “welfare reform.” She is a strong voice for requiring the Armed Services to enact effective procedures to combat racial and sexual discrimination within the military. As the first permanent woman member of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Moseley Braun has concentrated on efforts to improve retirement security for older women. After examining evidence that women are being short-changed in their retirement pensions, she has recently called on Congress to tear down the “brick wall of pension law” that discriminates against women and does not “reflect the patterns of women’s work or women’s lives.”
First elected in 1992, Cynthia McKinney became the state's first African American Congresswoman. After court ordered redistricting, she made history again by becoming the first African American woman to win a congressional seat in a majority white district in the South. She is currently the only woman serving in the Georgia delegation in Congress. McKinney is a staunch defender of reproductive rights, as well as lesbian and gay rights. She is known as an advocate for the poor and a leader for arms control. She has reintroduced her "Code of Conduct" legislation that prohibits the sale and transfer of arms and military technology to non-democratic governments. In addition to her service on the House Committees on Banking and Financial Services and International Relations, she is also an active member of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Progressive Caucus, and the Women's Caucus.
Tammy Baldwin, a former NOW Woman of Power Award winner, is Wisconsin's first openly lesbian or gay state legislator. She is hoping to make history again by being the first open lesbian to be elected to the United States House of Representatives by seeking the Democratic nomination for Wisconsin's open 2nd Congressional District. State Representative Baldwin's political career was launched with her 1986 election, at age 24, to the Dane County Board of Supervisors. After four terms, she was elected in 1992 to the Wisconsin State Assembly. Her political career thus far has been dedicated to the advancement of women's rights, disability rights, economic rights for the poor, and civil rights for lesbians and gays and people of color. Refusing to recast her image into a conventional candidate, Baldwin continues to lead the legislative fight against the ban on same-sex marriage and for reform of the criminal justice system.
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