"Breaking the marble ceiling": Nancy Pelosi is about to become the first female Speaker of the House. The Californian is one of many women rising to new political heights.

Two days after the midterm election that put Democrats in control of Congress, President Bush invited the incoming Democratic congressional leaders to the White House for lunch. For the first time in history, the leadership includes a woman, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, who will become the first female Speaker of the House when the 110th Congress convenes next month.

After lunch, Pelosi joined the President and Vice President Cheney in the Oval Office. Photographs of the meeting show Pelosi sitting next to the President, beaming with pride.

As Speaker of the House, Pelosi will be second in line to the presidency, behind the Vice President--the closest a woman in elective office has come to the White House. The Speaker presides over House sessions, helps set the agenda, and appoints some committee chairs. The job places Pelosi on a more visible stage, with much greater stakes. "It's huge for women in politics," says historian Robin Gerber.

When Congress convenes in January, it will include more women than ever before: 16 female Senators and at least 71 women in the House of Representatives. In addition, there will be a record nine women serving as Governors.

There are also four women in the Cabinet, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, by far the most visible and influential. Rice is the Bush administration's top diplomat, and her name is sometimes mentioned as a possible Republican candidate for President in the future.

Meanwhile, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York won re-election by a wide margin, prompting renewed speculation about whether she plans to run for the presidency in 2008. Recent polls show Clinton as the frontrunner among possible Democratic candidates.

1917: FIRST CONGRESSWOMAN

Even with this year's gains, women, who are more than half the population, will be just 16 percent of Congress. The push to get more women elected "is not gender for gender's sake," according to Marie Wilson of The White House Project. "This is really about transitioning into a real democracy that's representative of the American people," she says.

The history of women in Congress goes back to 1917, when Jeanette Rankin of Montana became the first woman elected to the House (three years before the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote). The first woman elected to the Senate was Hattie Caraway of Arkansas in 1932.

Over the years, women have made progress in Congress (see graph, below). Across the street from the Capitol, Sandra Day O'Connor became the first woman on the Supreme Court in 1981, and three years later, Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro of New York became the first female vice-presidential candidate on a major party (Democratic) ticket.

If Clinton is the Democratic candidate in 2008, that would be another first. In a recent Gallup poll, 61 percent of Americans said they're ready for a female President.

From a global perspective, the picture may look different. According to Victoria Budson, director of Harvard's Women and Public Policy program, the U.S. ranks 67th among the world's democracies in terms of women's participation in legislative bodies. "It places us behind virtually every other industrial democracy," Budson says.

PERFECT PREPARATION

Pelosi, 66, has represented San Francisco in Congress for 20 years. She has said her priorities for the new session include raising the federal minimum wage, lifting the federal ban on funding for stem-cell research, and changing course in Iraq.

Her friends say her background--as the daughter of a Baltimore mayor, the youngest and only girl in a family of six children, and the mother of five--has prepared her perfectly for holding the unruly Democratic caucus together.

"I'll say to her, 'Nancy, I'd blow up if I had to deal what you deal with,' and she says, 'I had five children in six years,'" says Representative Anna G. Eshoo, Democrat of California. "If there wasn't discipline in her house, there would have been chaos. She knows how important that is."

It is often said that women in business hit a "glass ceiling" beyond which it's hard for them to advance into the upper levels of management. In trying to convey the same idea about women and leadership positions in Congress, Pelosi has often said it involves breaking a "marble ceiling."

"This place is steeped in history and tradition," Pelosi said of Congress the day after the election. "You walk the halls here, you rarely see a picture of a woman, a statue of a woman. To break the marble ceiling that is here is great for all women in America."

With reporting by Kate Zernike of The New York Times.

WOMEN IN CONGRESS, 1917-2007

1917     1
1920     0
1930     9
1940     9
1950    10
1960    19
1970    11
1980    17
1990    31
2000    65
2007    87 *

* At least 87: As of press time, there were still several House
races too close to call for the 110th Congress, which convenes in
Jan. 2007.

SOURCE: CENTER FOR AMERICAN WOMEN AND POLITICS, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

BACKGROUND

When the 110th Congress convenes in January, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California will become Speaker of the House, making her the highest-ranking woman in government in American history. Women have made slow but steady gains in politics since winning the right to vote in 1920 with passage of the 19th Amendment.

CRITICAL THINKING/DISCUSSION

* Historian Robin Gerber says Nancy Pelosi's leap to high political office "helps women in all sectors." Ask students if they think that Nancy Pelosi's rise to such a powerful position in Congress will affect how society views women in other fields. Can one compare political power with rank in nonpolitical fields?

* Next, ask students how they view women in politics. Would they vote for a woman for President? What does it say about American politics that people are so fascinated by the fact that a woman is about to become Speaker of the House?

DEBATE

* Marie Wilson of the White House Project says the rise in the number of women in government will produce a "real democracy that's representative of the American people." Ask students this question: Does democracy require participation in government by all groups?

DISCUSSION QUESTION

* Why do you think women have not achieved such high office before now?

WRITING PROMPT

* Have students write a five-paragraph essay in which they argue why it is or is not important to have women in high-level government positions.

FAST FACT

* As of September 2006, Sweden led industrial democracies, with 165 women in the Riksdag, its version of Congress. This represents 47.3 percent of legislators.

WEB WATCH

http://bioguide.congress. gov/scripts/biodisplay. pl?index=P000197

Biographical information and a political resume of Nancy Pelosi.

1. Representative Pelosi's position as Speaker of the House will make her the second

a highest civilian adviser to the U.S. military.

b in line to the presidency after the Vice President.

c most important person deciding U.S. economic policy.

d woman from California to win a high position in Congress.

2. As Speaker of the House, Representative Pelosi's responsibilities will include

a appointing the chairs of some House committees.

b setting the date of the President's State of the Union Address before Congress.

c deciding which congressional districts should receive the most federal aid for public works projects.

d overseeing election results for the House, Senate, President, and advising the President on Supreme Court nominees.

3. Another powerful woman in Washington is Secretary of State

a Kay Bailey Hutchinson.

b Olympia Snowe.

c Barbara Boxer.

d Condoleezza Rice.

4. There is a great deal of speculation that in 2008 Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) will run for

a re-election.

b President.

c Governor of New York.

d Secretary General of the United Nations.

5. Representative Pelosi has said her priorities for the new Congress include

a raising federal taxes.

b raising the federal minimum wage.

c increasing trade with China.

d lowering the voting age.

IN-DEPTH QUESTIONS

1. Why do you think the United States ranks so far behind other industrial democracies when it comes to the number of women who participate in legislative bodies?

2. Explain why you believe--or do not believe--that the graph titled "Women in Congress, 1917-2007" demonstrates that American women have made significant progress in the field of politics.

ANSWER KEY

1. [b] in line to the presidency after the Vice President.

2. [a] appointing the chairs of some House committees.

3. [d] Condoleezza Rice.

4. [b] President.

5. [b] raising the federal minimum wage.

STATEMENTS TO READ                               CORRECT RESPONSE

"BREAKING THE MARBLE CEILING"

1. Pelosi represents this state in Congress.     What is California?
2. When the next Congress convenes.              What is January?
3. Of the House or Senate, the one with the      What is the House of
   most women.                                   Representatives?
4. It's said that women in business often hit    What is glass?
   a blank ceiling.
5. Year the first woman entered Congress.        What is 1917?