News 12's Tara Rosenblum reflects on the decades-long crusade that ultimately gave women the right to vote in a Power and Politics special.
Marking 100 years since women gained the right to vote, Rosenblum asked people about which suffragist they find most inspirational -- and spoke to the great-great-granddaughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Rosenblum also caught up with some of the women who hold the highest offices of power in New York today.
Some of the women include Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Assembly Member Amy Paulin and Attorney General Letitia James.
New York state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins shattered New York's glass ceiling in 2019, becoming the first women in the history of New York to lead a conference.
"When I became...the majority leader, I asked the 20 women in the chamber to stand -- 20. So when you think of the fact that almost a third of them are women, it's incredible," she says. "The reality is that we are coming a long way, but here we are also in an environment where you see women's health, we see reproductive rights, being rolled back."
Hillary Clinton, the first female presidential candidate of a major political party, agrees.
"We've made a lot of progress. I would never deny that, but we still have a long way to go on women's rights, on gay rights, on making sure that every person has the same chance to have their dignity and their identity respected," she says.
Compared to the rest of the world, the United States has the largest number of women in federal, state and local elected office.