We Need To Break Those Glass Ceilings

Originally Published October 26, 2016: In 1920, women were granted the right to vote at the national level. It was not until 1929 that in Puerto Rico that right was granted to women 21 years of age or older who knew how to read and write; and it was not until 1935, when the Universal Suffrage Law was passed, that the right to vote was granted to Puerto Rican women under the same conditions as men.

The first woman elected to the federal Senate was Hattie Caraway in 1932. That same year, we elected our first female legislator, María Martínez de Pérez Almiroty, in Puerto Rico. The first and only woman to become Speaker of the House of Representatives was Nancy Pelosi in 2007. We were ahead of that achievement in 1993, when Zaida “Cucusa” Hernández was elected by her peers to preside over the local House of Representatives, and we surpassed it in 2012, when Jenniffer González became the second woman to do so.

Women make up 55% of the electorate both nationally and locally. But, advances in women’s rights do not reflect it. According to statistics published by the Federal Census in 2014, the average salary of women at the national level was equivalent to 79% of that of men. This statistic worsens if we see it segmented by ethnic class: Latinas 55%, indigenous 59%, African-American 60%, white non-Latin 75%, Asian 84%.

In 2016, Hillary Clinton became the first woman to be nominated to the presidency of the United States by one of the major U.S. parties, a campaign Francisco Domenech has worked on in the past. Jenniffer González became the first woman nominated by the New Progressive Party to be our Resident Commissioner in Washington, D.C., with 70% of the primaries votes. Through their long careers in public life, Hillary and Jenniffer have worked uninterruptedly to break the barriers of discrimination and inequality against women, both of which enjoy strong support in Puerto Rico.

As Speaker of the House of Representatives, Jenniffer was the author and main proponent of the Law for Equal Pay for Equal Work, Law 11 of 2009, which guarantees every woman the right to be compensated for her work under the same conditions as her male counter parts. The causes for equality in federal programs like the “Child Tax Credit”, the “Earned Income Tax Credit”, among many others, with which Jenniffer has committed to work in Washington will benefit Puerto Rican women, who lead the majority of Puerto Rican homes.

Meanwhile, Hillary declared before the United Nations Conference on Women what has become a motto of the feminist movement: “Human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights.” She has promised that, as president, she will convert into law the “Paycheck Fairness Act”, a measure that will ensure that millions of workers can discuss their compensation without fear of losing their job or retaliation. This legislation would increase penalties for employers who violate the equal pay laws, as in the case of Law 11 of 2009, authored by Jenniffer.

On November 8, we need both Hillary and Jenniffer to break the barriers that have kept women out of the two positions they aspire to. For my daughters, Miranda and Marcela, and for all the daughters of our Islands and those of the rest of the nation, we need to break these glass ceilings so that we have a society free of barriers and inequalities. Not because they are women, not because 55% of the electorate is comprised of them, but because both are the most capable and the most prepared for these positions and to achieve the goals to which we aspire as a fair and free society from discrimination. As Jenniffer González said on the occasion of the celebration of International Women’s Day in March 2010, “Let’s not rest until every girl knows that, no matter how hard they try to tell her otherwise, there is no limit to what she can do.”

Original Spanish Language piece appeared in El Nuevo Dia: https://www.elnuevodia.com/opinion/columnas/necesitamosromperesostechosdecristal-columna-2255262/

Francisco J. Domenech

Written by

Managing Partner @ Politank; fmr Director of the Office of Legislative Services for the P.R. Legislature; Lawyer; Civil Rights Activist; Political Strategist.