Boys Town

July 11, 2009 | By Kitty Felde

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California Senator Barbara Boxer joined two of her female colleagues at a press conference last week. They came to praise Sonia Sotomayor. And to talk about the importance of having a woman - THIS woman - on the bench at the US Supreme Court.

It seemed a bit anachronistic. After all, this is the 21st century. We have our third female Secretary of State. Isn't this emphasis on the "women's movement" SO last century?

It was 18 years ago when then Congresswoman Barbara Boxer led a flashy march from the House side to the Senate to show support for Anita Hill. She'd been telling the Senate Judiciary Committee about the sexual harrassment she felt she'd experienced at the hands of Clarence Thomas. In those days, not one woman was a member of that Committee.

A lot has changed in two decades.

And yet, a lot has not. At least, not in Washington.

These days, the makeup of the Judiciary Committee is a bit more diverse. There are now two women who serve on the Committee that vets nominees to the Court. Two out of 19.

It's hard not to notice things like this.

In a Senate hearing on the climate change bill last week, the entire chamber was packed with guys in dark suits.

In the new press rooms in the Capitol Visitors Center on Thursday, every single reporter filing a story was a guy in a dark suit.

In a presentation by the Congressional Muslim Staff Association Thursday night, visitors from California listened to half a dozen Hill staffers tell their stories - all young guys in dark suits.

Perhaps Senator Boxer and her colleagues weren't far off the mark.

There are 17 women in the Senate today. 75 in the House. That's about 83% male. The Washington press corps is also predominantly male. Especially on the print side.

How much has changed since Barbara Boxer's march through Statuary Hall?

Perhaps the most hopeful sign was the makeup of the young people who came to hear the Congressional Muslim Staff Association. Nearly all of the Washington wanna-be's were women.

Maybe it won't take another 18 years for things to truly change in Washington.

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