Women who lead in New York reflect on progress since 19th Amendment

It was 100 years ago that women won the right to vote after a decades-long fight.

News 12 Staff

Aug 17, 2020, 9:54 PM

Updated 1,482 days ago

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News 12 is celebrating the centennial milestone of the 19th Amendment this week.
It was 100 years ago that women won the right to vote after a decades-long fight.
News 12's Tara Rosenblum caught up with some of the women who hold the highest offices of power in New York today.
Some of the women include Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Assembly Member Amy Paulin and Attorney General Letitia James.
New York state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins shattered New York's glass ceiling in 2019, becoming the first women in the history of New York to lead a conference.
"When I became...the majority leader, I asked the 20 women in the chamber to stand -- 20. So when you think of the fact that almost a third of them are women, it's incredible," she says. "The reality is that we are coming a long way, but here we are also in an environment where you see women's health, we see reproductive rights, being rolled back."
Hillary Clinton, the first female presidential candidate of a major political party, agrees.
"We've made a lot of progress. I would never deny that, but we still have a long way to go on women's rights, on gay rights, on making sure that every person has the same chance to have their dignity and their identity respected," she says.
Compared to the rest of the world, the United States has the largest number of women in federal, state and local elected office.
A half-hour show on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. will celebrate the important milestone -- only on News 12.