Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introducing the Trailblazing Governors

• Six Remarkable Women
• The Call of Politics
• Governor: The Job Description
• The Complexity of Leadership
• Dealing with the Press
• Gender and Politics
• Women Candidates: Barriers and Hurdles
• An Invitation

Chapter 2 Women Rising: Historical Context

• The Women Who Came Before
• Women in Elected Office
• Women Governors
• Women in Congress
• The Early Women in Congress
• Feminists Arrive in Congress
• The Rising Tide: Emergence of the Women’s Movement
• Reproductive Freedom
• The Struggle to Pass the Equal Rights Amendment
• Backdrop for Governing in the 1970s to 1990s
• Feminism: Liberal, Radical and Difference
• Liberal versus Radical Feminism
• Difference Feminism

Chapter 3 Ella Tambussi Grasso: “Bloom Where You Are Planted”

• Becoming Who You Are
• Mount Holyoke’s Influence
• Love, Marriage, and Family
• The Journey to the Governor’s Office
• Secretary of the State
• U.S. Congress
• Running for Governor
• Working Wonders: The Essence of Governing
• Ella’s Leadership Style
• Ella’s Policy Agenda
• Reelection: A Different Reality
• Leaving Office
• The Difference Gender Made
• Sustaining Values
• Ella’s Legacy

Chapter 4 Dixy Lee Ray: The Ultimate Political Outsider

• Growing Up
• Education: The Road to Independence
• Career in Science
• The Atomic Energy Commission
• Running for Governor
• Working Wonders: The Essence of Governing
• Policy Agenda
• The Environment
• Nuclear Power
• Supertankers on the Puget Sound
• The Press War
• Dixy Defeated in the 1980 Democratic Primary
• What Made Dixy Tick
• The Difference Gender Made
• After the Governorship

Chapter 5 Martha Layne Collins: You Must First Be a Dreamer

• Growing Up
• Marriage, Family, and Her Political Journey
• The Political Turning Point
• Running for Governor
• The Role of First Gentleman
• Working Wonders: The Essence of Governing
• The Policy Agenda
• Education Reform
• Economic Development
• The Difference Gender Made
• Leadership Style
• After the Governorship
• Reaching Beyond Tomorrow

Chapter 6 Madeleine May Kunin: Leading Differently

• Growing Up
• Career, Marriage, and Family
• Political Journey
• Running for Lieutenant Governor
• Running for Governor
• Running for Reelection
• Working Wonders: The Essence of Governing
• Answering the Mail
• Hiring Women
• Handling Conflict and Criticism
• The Policy Agenda
• Creating Equity in School Funding
• Saving Vermont’s Rural Character
• Stepping Down
• The Difference Gender Made
• Weaving a Political Tapestry
• After the Governorship
• Reaching Beyond Tomorrow

 Chapter 7 Barbara Hughey Roberts: “I Did it My Way”

• Growing Up
• Marriage and Family
• Remarriage
• The Political Journey
• Running for Governor
• Working Wonders: The Essence of Governing
• Working Against the Backdrop
• Reinventing Government
• The Recall That Never Happened
• Policy Agenda: Taxes and the Conversation with Oregon
• Policy Agenda: Timber, the Spotted Owl, and Diversifying the Economy
• Collaborative Leadership
• Governor as Role Model
• Stepping Down
• After the Governorship
• Reaching Beyond Tomorrow

 Chapter 8 Christine Todd Whitman: Fighting for Political Center

• Growing Up
• Career, Marriage, and Family
• Beginning the Political Journey
• Running for U.S. Senate
• Running for Governor
• The Ed Rollins Debacle
• Reelection 1997: A Near-Death Experience
• Working Wonders: The Essence of Governing
• The Narrative of Race
• The Policy Agenda
• The Battle Over Late Term Abortions
• The Difference Gender Made
• The Narrative of Wealth and Limits of Party Loyalty
• After the Governorship
• Fighting for the Political Center
• Reaching Beyond Tomorrow

Chapter 9 Reaching Beyond Tomorrow

• Variations and Common Threads
• Sustaining the Journey
• The Experience of Governing
• Essential Qualities of the Trailblazing Governors
• Authenticity and Integrity
• Self-Confidence
• Extreme Competence
• Warmth and Likeability
• Energy, Optimism, and Enthusiasm
• The Courage of Trailblazers
• Trailblazing Governors: Lessons Learned

Appendix I: History of Women Governors from 1925 to 2011

Selected References

Chapter Notes

Acknowledgements

About the Author