Without the contributions and activism of women throughout history, our lives would not look the same today. Social and political milestones helped give women autonomy and more opportunities, including winning the right to vote, access to reproductive healthcare, and women holding leadership positions traditionally reserved for men. Life changing and lifesaving inventions, such as the car heater, feeding tube, and the home security system came from the minds of brilliant women, and who wouldn’t want to live in a world where Taylor Swift is smashing every record in the music industry?

Every March, we celebrate the accomplishments of these women and all the amazing women who came before us with Women’s History Month. The annual observance began as a week-long celebration in Santa Rosa, California. In 1978, the Education Task Force of Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women planned the first Women’s History Week, choosing the week of March 8 to coincide with International Women’s Day. Women’s History Week soon spread across the country as other communities and groups began hosting their own celebrations.

By February 1980, the week of March 8 was officially declared National Women’s History Week after the National Women’s History Project (now the National Women’s History Alliance) advocated for the week’s national recognition. In 1987, Congress passed Public Law 100-9, officially designating March as Women’s History Month.

Since then, women have continued to make strides and history in all fields, including politics and government affairs.

According to the Center for American Women in Politics, in 2024:

• 25% of United States Senators are women.
• 126 out of 435 seats are held by women in the United States House of Representatives.
• 12 women are serving as governors.
• 8% of mayors in United States cities are women.
• 99 Statewide Elective Executives are women.
• 2,424 women hold positions in statewide legislatures.

Women have always taken an active role in politics and advocacy, whether they were welcomed and recognized, or not. Some notable women in this arena include:

• Elizabeth Cady Stanton – A women’s rights activist and abolitionist, Stanton, along with several other women, convened the first women’s rights convention in Seneca, New York. At this convention, Stanton shared the Declaration of Sentiments, which called for major reforms to laws and practices that were oppressive to women. She also led the Women’s National Loyal League, which called for immediate emancipation during the Civil War. Additionally, Stanton fought for women’s suffrage through the National American Woman Suffrage Association.
• Sojourner Truth – In 1851 at the Ohio Women’s Convention in Akron, Sojourner Truth gave her famous speech, “Ain’t I a Woman?”, where she demanded equal rights and suffrage for all women, not just white women, and called for intersectionality between abolitionism and women’s suffrage. She spent her life fighting for Civil Rights, continuing to call for abolition, women’s suffrage, and other causes around the country. The bronze bust of Sojourner Truth lies in the United States Capitol Visitor Center, and is the first sculpture there to honor an African American.
• Anne Wexler – Anne Wexler was the first woman to own a lobbying firm. Wexler started her political career in the 1960s when she served on the Westport Zoning Board of Appeals and worked on the campaigns of John Fitzgerald, Eugene McCarthy, Joseph Duffy, and Jimmy Carter. She also worked in President Carter’s administration. In 1980, she established Wexler & Walker Public Policy Associates, which took on clients such as General Motors and worked with the Australian government.

While once considered a “good old boys club”, the tides are changing in the field of government relations. In 2023, women made up almost 40% of registered lobbyists. Professional networks such as Black Girl Magic Network, Women in Government Relations (WGR), and Women in Government (WIG) are working to ensure that all women have a seat at the table.

As a proud woman-owned company, State and Federal Communications, Inc. also works to celebrate and elevate women in the government relations industry and in our community. We are long-time supporters of Women in Government, Women in Government Relations, ATHENA Akron, Akron Community Foundation’s Women’s Endowment Fund, and the Sojourner Truth Legacy Plaza in downtown Akron.

In our own company, led by President and CEO Elizabeth Bartz, 41% of our team members are women and hold positions in each department. Three of our top leadership positions are held by women: President and CEO Elizabeth Bartz, Vice President Amber Fish Linke, Esq., and Senior Advisor Jean Cantrell. Additionally, our Compliance Department is made up of 50% women and our Research Department is 33% women, taking on roles that have traditionally been done by men.

As we observe Women’s History Month, we continue to celebrate the contributions of women before us while making space for all women to succeed in the face of adversity. March may be over soon, but the achievements of powerful and trailblazing women will continue to live on.

Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP). 2024. “Women in Elective Office 2024.” New Brunswick, NJ: Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University-New Brunswick. https://cawp.rutgers.edu/facts/current-numbers/women-elective-office-2024 (Accessed March 13, 2024)

The Season of Holidays is upon us now, and that means many people are feeling anxiety about family gatherings where the conversations may easily turn to discussions surrounding the “P” word (politics). The old adage of politics being one of the topics never to be brought up for discussion has all but vanished in today’s times, and so inevitably, you may find yourself at the dinner table in a heated exchange with another family member whose political thoughts, feelings, and ideologies are vastly different than yours. I urge you, however, not to abandon the conversation and run for the nearest exit!

Make a commitment to yourself, instead, to further engage your fellow conversationalist by asking questions and participating in active listening; see if you can put yourself in the other person’s shoes and perhaps understand their point of view. To be clear, however, I am in no way advocating for you to subject yourself to someone whose rhetoric is either physically, mentally, or emotionally harmful (some people you will never agree with and that’s just the way it is!). I am simply suggesting that just because someone’s point of view is different from yours, does not necessarily mean that there aren’t areas where you can empathize or maybe find some common ground.

Try this out during your dinner table conversations and make notes to yourself on the highlights, challenges, and opportunities for growth that you could leverage in preparation for future conversations. Feel free to drop me a line and let me know your thoughts! I wish you a very happy, healthy, safe, productive, and unifying holiday Season!

I was a traditional student. You know I did what was expected of me. I graduated high school and went to college for a BA. Took a short-term job at an NPR station and realized if I needed to make a change, I needed more education. I obtained an MA and went to work thinking I knew it all.

But you know I didn’t. Statistics was not my favorite class in graduate school so when I moved to DC, I took a class at the Department of Agriculture so I could try on my own time to learn more about it. After all these decades I really do not use statistics.

Again, for decades I sat at my desk running the company. In 2009, I read about the Public Affairs Council’s PAC Institute and applied for the 2010 class. It was amazing. We did not spend our time talking about how a bill becomes law, how to lobby, or how to be a perfect employee.

From the Council’s website, step outside the day-to-day challenges of your job. Focus on the broader issues shaping the business and political environments in which your organization operates.

The Public Affairs Institute combines a rigorous curriculum with small, carefully selected classes to provide participants with unmatched opportunities to learn directly from premier faculty. Speakers are issue experts from leading universities, think tanks, and the top levels of government.

The Institute’s three-year course of study ensures graduates gain an in-depth understanding of the pivotal issues in public affairs today. You will be immersed in an exceptional educational and networking environment renowned for its innovation and excellence.

The Institute curriculum is developed for public affairs executives by public affairs executives. Topics are chosen based on input from previous graduates about the challenges that they and their organizations face.

In 2010, State and Federal Communications sent the following to Institute and in January 2023, Gamble Hayden will be part of the freshman class.

Elizabeth Bartz—Class of 2012

Ren Koozer—Class of 2016

Jean Cantrell—Class of 2013

Rebecca South—Class of 2019

Joseph May—Class of 2023

As you prepare for your professional development look at this awesome program. If you have any specific questions, please contact me. I love promoting the PAC Institute. #AlwaysLearning

Thank you.

Elizabeth Z. Bartz @elizabethbartz

Ohio: “Ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder Gets Maximum 20 Years in Prison for Largest Bribery Scandal in State History” by Adam Ferrise for Cleveland Plain Dealer

Ohio: “Ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, Former Ohio GOP Leader Matt Borges Found Guilty” by Jessie Balmert and Laura Bischoff (Columbus Dispatch) for MSN

Ohio: “Deliberations Begin in Epic Corruption Trial” by Marty Schladen for Ohio Capital Journal

Ohio: “Prosecutor Says Householder Led Pay-to-Play Scheme; Defense Calls It ‘Nothing Burger'” by Jessie Balmert and Laura Bischoff (Columbus Dispatch) for Yahoo News

Ohio: “This Ohio Trial Has Big Implications for Corruption and Campaign Finance Law” by Tal Kopen (Boston Globe) for MSN

Ohio: “Larry Householder’s Corruption Trial Is Nearly Over. Here’s How We Got Here” by Jeremy Pelzer (Cleveland Plain Dealer) for MSN

Ohio: “Ex-Speaker Householder’s Testimony Crumbles Under Prosecutor’s Scrutiny in Bribery Case” by Jake Zuckerman (Cleveland Plain Dealer) for MSN

Ohio: “Prosecutors Say Householder Hatched Bribery Scheme at Washington Steakhouse. He Says He Spent the Weekend with Family.” by Andrew Tobias and Jake Zuckerman (Cleveland Plain Dealer) for MSN

Ohio: “Ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder to Take the Stand Wednesday in Ongoing Corruption Trial” by Jake Zuckerman and Andrew Tobias (Cleveland Plain Dealer) for MSN

Ohio: “Recordings in Corruption Trial: Borges paid man $15K while asking him to spy” by Marty Schladen for Ohio Capital Journal