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How Nancy Pelosi Impacted Women in Politics

Politics, for a long time has been a male dominated field, but over time women have proven to be able to fit in the role just quite fine. Notable mentions for women who have stood out politically include; Florence Allen – the first female federal judge also first female justice of the Ohio Supreme Court; Shirley Chisholm – the first black congresswoman in 1968; Hillary Rodham Clinton – former First lady and also the first First lady to win a public senatorial seat; Madeleine Albright who served as the secretary of state 1997- 2001; Nancy Pelosi – first woman speaker of the house in 2007 among others. Mariani, Marshall, and Mathews-Schultz (2015) illustrated that women with higher political standings have had the ability to foster and motivate young women, and at times, young men into political participation. This paper, therefore, aims to show how one woman – Nancy Pelosi – has impacted young women politically.

Nancy Pelosi’s story of rise, from very humble beginnings to where she is, has by far positively impacted women and men alike. Simply put, she has had a combination of interest in the field, hard work, and the determination to drive change. “Nancy Patricia D’Alesandro was born into the family of Baltimore’s most renowned politician on March 26 1940, the youngest of six children and the only daughter to Tommy and Annunciata D’Alesandro” (Marcovitz, 2009 p.18). For Nancy politics was basically her way of life as and that it was “a noble calling, that we have a responsibility to people” as Marcovitz (2009, p. 18) continued to quote. This only goes to show that with interest, determination and consistency in hard work any woman could get to rise to any political rank.

Nancy Pelosi has also encouraged women to run for and hold important offices in the state through her active role as the Speaker of the House. Her role as the Speaker of the House puts her at a position where she is second in line to the presidency where, as Marcovitz (2009) puts it, in any case there was anything to happen that would hinder service delivery of both the president and the vice president, she would assume office. This role, therefore, goes further to show women and to encourage them to run and hold office to be able to take part in making changes for the greater good, and also puts women in positions where they are actively involved and consequently influence major decision making.

Mariani, Marshall, and Mathews-Schultz (2015), in their study of the influence of female role models on young women, concluded that not so many women (basing their example mainly on Palin’s candidacy) had the same influence on young women. In that regard, the rhetoric they employ as well as the issues they focus on, play an important role in influencing young women. This is to say that, even though Pelosi and Hillary, to a greater extent impacted positively on women, there is also a percentage of women who did not share the same ideologies and therefore, politically, for this percentage of women, Pelosi and Hillary would not have had a positive impact.

Women in politics, the world over, have been known to champion for policy implementation. With the changing times, there is need for more implementation than politicking. Women in higher positions motivate younger members to run and hold office to be able to deliver services; be responsible to the citizen. “As first lady of Baltimore, my mother…showed me what a significant role woman could play in politics, as she worked hand in hand with my father to serve the people of Baltimore” Marcovitz (2009, p. 19) quoted Pelosi. This goes to show that Pelosi was equally motivated by a woman in politics as well. Nancy Pelosi, while in Congress, championed for LGBTQ rights; gender equality and discrimination. She has advocated for stricter gun policies and regulations; security. While in the Barrack Obama administration, she pushed for the Affordable Care Act; health. Therefore, Nancy has shown women world over that it is possible to still do it as women in the field (Page, 2021)

In conclusion, Nancy Pelosi, as a woman in politics, has shown younger women and aspiring politics, that it is possible for women to make it in a world known to be dominated by men. Through her interest that span from an early age, persistence, hard work and determination she has risen to the second most powerful office after the president’s. Nancy has also shown women that it is important to actively involve oneself with such practices, to be able to contribute and impact positively on the society. To be able to take part in change-making in an ever-changing world, she has shown that women could also be leaders. Nancy Pelosi’s influence in the past year is significant for women because she is a stepping stone. She has shown that there are not any limits for women and that they could make it. Over the last year she has stood as very outspoken, firm and steadfast in her beliefs and she is not afraid to share her points of view on contentious issues or matters that need attention.