Learn about Ohio's women in politics at the Ladies' Gallery
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An overview of the Ohio Statehouse Ladies' Gallery. Photo: Courtesy of Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board
With more women serving in the state Legislature than ever before, we visited Capitol Square to learn where it all began.
Why it matters: For nearly 20 years, the Statehouse Ladies' Gallery has celebrated Ohio political history and inspired citizens to think about history yet to be made.
By the numbers: Ohio has 46 women state legislators this term. The 10 senators and 36 state representatives make up 35% of the 132 seats, per Rutgers' Center for American Women in Politics.
- That's a record high, and is nearly double the representation women had when the gallery opened in 2008.
- In total, over 200 women have served at the Statehouse.
Flashback: Ohioans elected women state lawmakers for the first time in 1922, two years after the 19th Amendment guaranteeing women's suffrage was ratified.
- The original six, all Republicans, are memorialized with portraits in the first-floor Ladies' Gallery, which also displays artifacts and historical accounts of the suffrage movement.
The representatives: Nettie M. Clapp (Cuyahoga County), Lulu Thomas Gleason (Lucas), Adelaide Sterling Ott (Mahoning) and May Martin Van Wye (Hamilton).
The senators: Nettie Bromley Loughead (Hamilton) and Maude Comstock Waitt (Cuyahoga).
Zoom in: This group was passionate about many social issues of the time, including education, prison reform, wages and assistance for veterans.
- Clapp was the first to sponsor a bill that became law, requiring all public school children to study the U.S. and Ohio constitutions, which stands today.
Yes, but: There are still plenty of "firsts" waiting for future leaders, says Dayna Jalkanen, the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board's deputy director of museum and education.
- Ohio has had a woman governor for just 11 days, no woman Senate president, and only one woman House speaker — Jo Ann Davidson of Franklin County, also memorialized in the gallery.
- No women lawmakers have been Latina and just two have been Asian American.
Plus: There are no monuments recognizing real women on Capitol Square, though that's expected to change next year.
The bottom line: "It's important for us to remember that rights aren't just given," Jalkanen tells Axios, regarding the gallery's importance.
Stop by: The Statehouse is open to visitors 8am-5pm Monday-Friday and 11am-5pm Saturday-Sunday.
- Free guided tours are offered daily.
- Women's History Month events are scheduled the next two Tuesdays at noon.
Ohio women's journey to achieving political parity with men has been slow and steady, with the most progress happening in recent decades.
By the numbers: The state briefly had 10 women lawmakers in the 1920s, but the number didn't reach double-digits again until the late '70s, per Rutgers' data.
- From 1931-1942 and 1957-1966, a total of 22 years, Ohio had no women senators.
Between the lines: Today, 66 lawmakers would equal half of the legislature's elected seats.