In February 1981, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah and Representative Barbara Mikulski of Maryland (now Senator Mikulski) co-sponsored the first Joint Congressional Resolution designating the week of March 8th as “Women’s History Week.” Congress later declared March to be "National Women's History Month." Each year, a presidential proclamation launches the month-long celebration.

Women have become increasingly present and active in the Senate community since Rebecca Latimer Felton became the first woman to serve in the Senate in 1922.  By the year 2000, there were nine women Senators serving in the 106th Congress.  Together the nine wrote the book Nine and Counting, in which they shared their individual stories of overcoming obstacles to advance in a political world dominated by men.  They encouraged women of all ages to become involved. Today, 17 women serve as U.S. senators, the most ever to serve simultaneously, and the Senate community includes many more women in supporting roles including officers, staff members, and pages.

Photo Exhibit: Women in the Senate.

In August 1993, Senators Dale Bumpers and David Pryor of Arkansas proposed to the Senate Commission on Art that a portrait of Hattie Caraway be considered for the Senate wing of the Capitol. Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Caraway was the first woman elected to a full term in the U.S. Senate. The portrait was unveiled at the U.S. Capitol on June 24,1996.

As chief clerk of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Ruth Watt managed the hearing rooms, made arrangements for witnesses and investigations, took care of the subcommittee's finances, issued its subpoenas, supervised its records, and in general handled its paperwork. She worked closely with subcommittee chairmen from Joseph R. McCarthy to Henry M. Jackson, and with staff members who included William P. Rogers, Roy Cohn, Robert F. Kennedy, Pierre Salinger and Carmine Bellino. She also offers candid reminiscences of such colorful witnesses as Howard Hughes, Jimmy Hoffa, and Joe Valachi.

Audio Clip and Transcript