Publisher’s Message

Sisterhood and Leadership

Quartet of Pioneers, circa 1986. From left, Governor Madeleine Kunin; Vermont Woman Founding Editor Rickey Gard Diamond; Ms. Magazine Founding Editor Gloria Steinem; Vermont Woman Founding Publisher Sue Gillis. Steinem was the keynote speaker at the first anniversary celebration of Vermont Woman.

You have felt these hands reach out to you. You have seen the special light in other women’s eyes as your presence on the political podium has elevated them to their rightful status. Watching the women along the parade route – that special applause, thumbs up, cheers – you know it when you see it, and it is extraordinarily powerful, our intuitive sisterhood.” – The Honorable Madeleine Kunin, speaking at a Strategic Leadership conference in 1990 sponsored by the  Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Women’s Campaign Research.

Twenty years ago Governor Madeleine May Kunin was featured on the first cover of the first Vermont Woman. It was November 1985 and Kunin was ten months into her first term as Vermont’s first woman governor; a Swiss-born Jewish refugee, educator, wife, and mother of four children. It was a marvelous coincidence that Vermont’s first and only woman-owned statewide monthly newspaper, Vermont Woman, was launched at the same time. Through those years Governor Kunin graced our cover three times. When Kunin decided in 1990 not to run for a fourth term, Vermont Woman coincidentally closed at the same time (for a long hiatus – until October 2003). It was quite a run for Madeleine May Kunin, and for Vermont Woman.

Many of us remember the feeling of excitement and pride as we eagerly followed and participated in Kunin’s history-making journey. When elected, Kunin was one of only three women governors in the nation, and the first ever to be elected to three terms.

As Governor, Kunin insisted early on that no appointments would be made without women on the nominee list. She insisted that qualified women were out there and, indeed, her advisors found them. She appointed an unprecedented number of women to head commissions and to fill other key positions:

• Gretchen Babcock, Commissioner of Banking and Insurance;
• Liz Bankowski, Chief of Staff;
• Veronica Celani, Commissioner of the Department of Social Services;
• Susan Crampton, Secretary of Transportation;
• Kathy Hoyt, Deputy Commissioner of Employment and Training (later to become Commissioner);
• Gretchen Morse, Secretary of the Agency of Human Services;
• Sallie Soule, Commissioner of Employment and Training;
• Patricia Thomas, Commissioner of General Services; and
• Patricia Walton, Commissioner of Finance and Management.

From the start, Governor Kunin and her staff set a women-inspired agenda, addressing education, poverty, reproductive choice, equality for women, and management by consensus. This agenda was considered by some to be controversial, and was often criticized. There is no question, however, that Madeleine Kunin understood the game – yet played it her way. In so doing, she helped to create an “old girls’ network,” for which we can be thankful today.

March is Women’s History Month. We at Vermont Woman are committed to providing a historical context for the issues facing younger generations today. We must tell the stories of our lives and those who came before us – the pioneers who were the “firsts” to break through the political, medical, financial, educational, and corporate glass ceilings – particularly when these ceilings remain intact.

The Honorable Madeleine May Kunin was a Vermont First.

On March 5 the Women’s History Project will honor Madeleine Kunin for her generosity of spirit, her courage, and her enduring legacy.

And with love and gratitude for her inspiration and continued commitment to the sisterhood of leadership, we are honored to have Madeleine as our cover feature this month.