18 Who Will Make An Impact In 2018: The Women of Delaware

4 out of 21 Delaware State Senators are women.  9 out of 41 Delaware State Representatives are women.  Which gives women a small 21% portion of the Delaware General Assembly.  I am predicting that number will rise in January of 2019 after many women win seats in the upcoming Delaware General Election.  From Laura Sturgeon to Donyale Hall, from Elizabeth Lockman to Krista Griffith and Rachel Blumenfeld, we are seeing fresh new faces running for office.  We even have Kathleen Davies taking on her former boss for the Delaware State Auditor.  Factoring in the shameful season of men getting blacklisted from Hollywood and the media over sexual harassment of women, the time is ripe for a major shift in politics.

I have seen how some female legislators are treated at Legislative Hall by certain legislators.  I’ve seen the bullying and intimidation.  While I won’t name names, it happens.  While this isn’t sexual in nature, it is an arrogance that men can treat women differently.  These men wouldn’t dare talk to their male counterparts in the same way but they seem to think it is okay to speak to women in a dismissive tone.  This happens more on the blue side.  In fact, I have yet to see it on the red side of the aisle.  Which is strange since the Dems hold so much power in The First State.  But I see Dems in Delaware as a split party: those on the corporate side and those on the Progressive side.

The vast majority of our teachers in Delaware are women.  Our Delaware DOE is led by a woman.  The State Board of Education is evenly split (at the moment) between women and men.  Other state agencies are led by women.  Many of our school boards have a majority of women serving on them.  So why does our General Assembly have such an overwhelming amount of men?

In the coming months, I expect to see more women filing for office.  This is not an endorsement for feminism.  It is about balance of power.  Power doesn’t just reside in political parties, but also gender.  The face of the Delaware 150th General Assembly could look very different in a year.