Workers: Pat Schroeder

Pat Schroeder (1940-2023) was a trailblazing force in American politics, known for her advocacy for women's rights and social justice. As the first woman elected to Congress from Colorado, she championed progressive causes from gender equality to reproductive rights to education throughout her 24-year tenure.

For Further Reading:

• Patricia Schroeder, Feminist Force in Congress, Dies at 82 - The New York Times 
• Feminists and Friends Reflect on Pat Schroeder's Legacy - Ms. Magazine 
• Pat Schroeder, first woman on House Armed Services, dies at 82 

This month we’re talking about workers: Women who fought for labor rights and shaped the way we do business today. They advocated and innovated to make the “office” – wherever it is – a more equitable place.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Sara Schleede, Paloma Moreno Jimenez, Luci Jones, Abbey Delk, Hannah Bottum, Lauren Willams, and Adrien Behn. Special thanks to Shira Atkins. Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello for Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this
is Womanica. This month, we're talking about workers, women who
fought for labor rights and shaped the way we do
business today. They advocated and innovated to make the office
wherever it is, a more equitable place. Today, we're talking
about a woman who envisioned in America where women and
men were equals in intellect and opportunity, and she made

(00:25):
it her life's work to make that dream a reality.
Let's talk about Pat Schroeder. Pat was born Patricia Nell
Scott on July thirtieth, nineteen forty, in Portland, Oregon. Her
family moved around a lot, but Pat spent most of
her childhood in Des Moines, Iowa. Pat's father was a
pilot who owned an aviation insurance company. She followed in

(00:48):
his footsteps by getting her pilot's license at fifteen years old.
When she chose to attend the University of Minnesota, she
did so because its ROTC program included aircraft. Pat continued
her education at Harvard Law School as one of just
fifteen women in a class of more than five hundred people.
While in law school, she married her classmate, James Stroeder.

(01:11):
After graduation, the couple moved to Denver. Pat worked for
the National Labor Relations Board. She also volunteered as legal
counsel for Planned Parenthood. In nineteen sixty six, Pat left
her job to raise her growing family. She was working
full time as a mom when James came home one
day with an interesting proposition. In nineteen seventy two, the

(01:33):
stage was set for President Richard Nixon to win another
term and for the Republican congressman in Pat's district to
be re elected. James was on a committee of Democrats
looking for a candidate to challenge the incumbent. As Pat recalled,
James came home and said, guess whose name came up?
I don't know, responded Pat. James said yours, She replied mine.

(01:58):
I haven't run for a bus what you talking about?
But soon headlines read Denver housewife runs for Congress. Never
mind the fact that Pat was a Harvard educated lawyer.
Pat knew she was fighting an uphill battle, but she
also believed she could make a difference. Pat won both
the primary and the general election, and so began her

(02:19):
twenty four year tenure in the House of Representatives. When
she joined Congress, Pat was one of fourteen women in
the House of Representatives. She described it as a guy gulag.
The gender bias continued during her swearing in, the Speaker
of the House tried to swear in her husband instead
of her. Her male colleagues would sometimes refer to their

(02:40):
fairly tall colleague as little Patsy, and in one particularly
egregious incident, the chairman of a committee meeting made Pat
and a black member of the committee share a chair.
According to Pat, she and this other member sat cheeked
to cheek because the chairman said that women and black
people were worth only one half of one regular member.

(03:03):
Pat stood firm in the face of this adversity. When
asked how she could function as both a mother and
a lawmaker, she responded, I have a brain, I have
a uterus, and they both work. Despite little support from
the guy gulag, Pat was incredibly effective during her time
in office. She fought tirelessly for the rights of women

(03:24):
and families, and worked to increase equity for women in
the workforce. In nineteen seventy seven, she co founded and
co chaired the Bipartisan Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues. The
caucus gave women across the country legislative champions to fight
for policies affecting their lives, health, and financial status. In
nineteen seventy eight, Pat played a key role in getting

(03:45):
the Pregnancy Discrimination Act passed, which still prevents employers from
dismissing women because they're pregnant or denying them their maternity benefits.
She was also vital to the Economic Equity Act, the
Child Abuse Prevention Act, and the Violence Against Women Act,
the last of which she worked closely with not President
Joe Biden to get past. Pat also worked to open

(04:07):
military jobs up to women. One of Pat's most significant
contributions was her year's long advocacy for the Family and
Medical Leave Act. For almost a decade, Pat fought for
women and men to receive guaranteed time from work to
have children or to take care of a sick family member.
Pat argued for paid leave, but in the end President

(04:31):
Clinton signed a bill that guaranteed women and men receive
up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave. After more than
a decade in the House of Representatives, Pat considered a
different house, the White House, after Democratic hopeful Gary Hart's
extramarital affairs were exposed Pat, the co chair of his campaign,
strongly considered running herself. Women across the country showed their support.

(04:57):
Her potential candidacy meant a chance to put wa women's
rights and family issues on the national agenda, but in
the end, Pat made the decision not to enter the race.
During her announcement, Pat briefly broke down in tears over
her decision. I learned a lot about America, and I
learned a lot about Pat Schroeder. That's why I will

(05:18):
not be a candidate for president. She had underestimated how
much she wanted the presidency and what it would mean
for women and families. Those on both sides of the
aisle criticized her for showing that kind of emotion. Pat
retired in nineteen ninety six. At the time, she was
the longest serving woman in the House. In the next

(05:40):
few years, Pat published her book twenty four Years of
Housework and the Place Is Still a Mess, and served
as the president of the Association of American Publishers. When
Pat retired, she and her husband moved to Florida. Pat
Schroder died on March thirteenth, twenty twenty three. Before she died,
she said, I always wanted to be cremated and made

(06:01):
into a door stop so I could hold a door open,
because basically what I want to do is hold doors
open for people, and I figured that's what I was
trying to do in my political career, so why not
try and do it in the afterlife too. All month,
we're talking about workers. For more information, find us on
Facebook and Instagram at Wamanica Podcast Special thanks to Liz Kaplan,

(06:23):
my favorite sister and co creator. As always, we'll be
taking a break for the weekend. Talk to you on Monday.