From the new records set by women politicians for gubernatorial and congressional seats to the reversal of Roe v. Wade, 2022 has been a massive year for women in politics!

Below are GOTB’s top 12 moments for women in politics in 2022.

 

1. Year Three of COVID impacting women disproportionally.

2022 marked two years since Covid-19 emerged. The economic and social impacts of the pandemic have hit women particularly hard. Women have been disproportionately affected by layoffs and hiring freezes while also handling most household responsibilities.

 

2. Nomination and confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.

 In March of this year, President Joe Biden nominated Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. Justice Brown Jackson succeeded former Justice Stephen Breyer, whom she clerked for after her graduation from Harvard Law School, upon his retirement in June. Justice Brown Jackson made history as the first Black woman nominated and confirmed to the Supreme Court. She is also the sixth woman to serve on the highest court in the nation.

 

3. Mallory McMorrow’s speech in the Michigan state Senate.

In April of this year, State Senator Mallory McMorrow (D-MI) went viral after giving an impassioned speech defending herself against negative claims made by State Senator Lana Theis (R-MI) in her fundraising emails. Senator McMorrow’s five-minute speech titled, “Hate Will Not Win” focused on her background and how hate persists if people like her don’t stand up and address it. Senator McMorrow’s speech received over one million views within the first couple of hours of being posted on social media.

 

4. Women registered to vote in record numbers.

Women registered to vote in record numbers this year. Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin all saw upticks in women’s voter registration. Experts say that this increase was partially attributed to the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade (1973), in addition to issues important to women this past election cycle including lack of affordable healthcare, general childcare, paid family leave, and sick leave.

 

5. The reversal of Roe v. Wade.

In June of this year, the Supreme Court reversed the landmark case, Roe v. Wade (1973), which constitutionally granted the right to an abortion in America. The 5-4 decision made by the Supreme Court caused a ripple effect across the country. Several states had trigger laws in place, restricting or banning abortion as soon as the Supreme Court’s decision was announced. Several philanthropists have made significant donations to organizations like Planned Parenthood to protect reproductive healthcare and some states have passed legislation to do the same. Other states are beginning to follow in the footsteps of those that have already banned abortion.

 

6. Record number of women v. women races in history. 

Women made history this year by setting a new record for the number of women v. women races at gubernatorial and congressional levels. This is a turning point for women in politics, as research from the Barbara Lee Family Foundation shows that many voters’ perceptions may change when two women run,

 

7. Record-breaking number of 12 women governors elected.

Starting in January 2023, 12 women will serve as governor in the United States, breaking the previous record of nine first set in 2004. Incumbent governors were reelected in seven states: Alabama, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, New Mexico, and South Dakota. Three states elected a woman as governor for the first time: Arkansas, Massachusetts, and New York (note: Gov. Kathy Hochul was not elected governor during her first term). In Arizona and Oregon, women won open seats.  Two states elected an out lesbian woman governor–Massachusetts and Oregon—in another first for the country.

8. Record number of women elected to Congress.

The number of women in Congress will increase to 149 in 2023, setting a new record for the legislative body. A few of the trailblazing women elected to Congress include: Becca Balint (D-VT), the first woman and first out LGBTQ person to represent Vermont, Summer Lee (D-PA), the first Black woman elected to represent Pennsylvania, Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), the first Latina elected to represent Florida, and Katie Britt (R-AL), the first female Senator elected from Alabama.

 

9. Women elected to Statewide Executive Offices.

This year, two states made history by electing the first all-female Governor and Lieutenant Governor team. The two women running mates who made history are Governor-elect Maura Healey (D) and Lieutenant Governor-elect Kim Driscoll (D) of Massachusetts, and Governor-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) and Lieutenant Governor-elect Leslie Rutledge (R) of Arkansas.

 

10. Women of color appeared on U.S. currency. 

The American Women Quarters program is a four-year initiative celebrating the accomplishments and contributions of women in the United States by depicting them on the newest circulation of quarters by the U.S. Mint. This year, the five women honored in the program included: poet and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou, astronaut Dr. Sally Ride, Suffrage leader and educator, Adelina Otero-Warren, actress and activist Anna May Wong, and Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation Wilma Mankiller. Some of next year’s honorees will include First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and pilot Bessie Coleman.

 

11. Trailblazing women in history passed away.

This year, two trailblazing women in politics passed away. Marilyn Loden was a writer, management associate and diversity advocate, who coined the term “glass ceiling.” Madeleine Albright was an American diplomat and political scientist, most known for being the first woman serve as Secretary of State in the country, from 1997 to 2001 during the Clinton administration.

 

12. Nancy Pelosi stepping down As House Speaker.

In November, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced she would be stepping down from her congressional leadership role. Speaker Pelosi was the first woman to serve in the role and did so for more than two decades, and in her announcement expressed her excitement for the next generation to lead the Democratic Party in the Congress.