Women have played significant roles throughout Michigan’s history. They have raised generations of children as mothers, served our communities as educators, transformed industries as entrepreneurs and executives, and broken barriers as legislative leaders and heads of state.

Some of these strong female leaders include Laura Smith Haviland and Elizabeth Margaret Chandler, who helped organize the Underground Railroad; Eva McCall Hamilton, our state’s first female senator; and Connie Binsfeld, our former Lieutenant Governor, and the namesake of the state Senate Office Building.

These and so many more women, whether working on the front lines of social change or quietly behind the scenes, have helped shape our state into what it is today, and I am fortunate to follow in the footsteps of some of those leaders.

In the state Legislature, female representation continues to improve — Michigan now ranks 12th in the nation — but we can do better. Though much progress has been made, there is still a disproportionately low number of women who serve in the Capitol. While women make up slightly more than half of our state’s population, only a little more than one third of our state legislators are women. Women’s History Month, and other events that highlight women’s contributions and successes, are important in helping to encourage girls and young women to blaze their own trails and achieve greatness, whether it be in elected office or other important endeavors.

Please join me this month as we recognize and celebrate the remarkable women in our lives who, from southwest Michigan and throughout our entire state, are making history all around us.

Kim LaSata, R, represents the 21st District, which includes Berrien, Cass and St. Joseph counties. She can be reached at (517) 373-6960 or SenKLaSata@senate.michigan.gov