1

Part I- Women's Political Participation under Clinton Administration

Background of Feminism

Feminist theory falls under the umbrella of critical theory, which, in general, has the
purpose of destabilizing systems of power and oppression. The goal of applying a
feminist lens is to make it possible to understand how individuals interact with
structures and perhaps provide answers for confronting and eliminating oppressive
structures and systems. With a focus on oppression, feminist theory considers the lived
experiences of any individual or humanity, not only women. The main ideas of
feminist theory are difference, choice, equality, discrimination, sex, gender, and race.
Systems and mechanisms exist that operate against people based on these attributes, as
well as against equity and equality. The concepts of intersectionality, aspects of social
life, social inequity, and social revolution are all important to feminism.
Understanding the complicated nature and evolution of the gendered divide has
greatly benefited from the long-lasting contributions provided by feminist studies.
Politically, economically, and socially, men and women ought to be treated equally.
This ideology does not support or condemn any distinctions or similarities between
males, nor does it advocate for the exclusion of men or the promotion of women's
interests exclusively. By recognizing and opposing oppression and power, feminist
philosophy encourages awareness and change. Feminism aims to lessen oppression for
all people and promote that understanding. Hooks (2000) said, “A male who has
divested of male privilege, who has embraced feminist politics, is a worthy comrade in
struggle, in no way a threat to feminism, whereas a female who remains wedded to
sexist thinking and behavior infiltrating the feminist movement is a dangerous threat.
Feminist theory is about questioning existing structures and whether they are creating
barriers for anyone. An interest in the reduction of barriers is feminist. Asking if
current systems are putting anyone at a disadvantage is at the foundation of feminist
theory. A feminist would be interested in eliminating barriers.1

1
Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, Security. "Secretary Madeleine Albright on Her Legacy As
a Women’s Rights Champion: ‘I Decided I Would Make Women’s Issues Central to American Foreign
Policy'." Ms. Magazine. Last modified March 25, 2022. [Link]
madeleine-albright-women-feminist-foreign-policy/.
 2

The first wave of feminism emerged from an atmosphere of liberal, socialist

politics and urban industrialism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many in the
United States came to believe that women should have equal representation after their
involvement in World War I. After nearly a century of opposition, women's suffrage
was finally granted by the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which
was ratified on August 18, 1920. The demand for the right to vote became the focal
point of the women's rights movement after the convention. Together with Susan B.
Anthony and other activists, Stanton and Mott pushed the government to give women
the right to vote by increasing public awareness. The 19th Amendment's ratification
marked the culmination of a protracted struggle for these organizations. Women of
color were still prevented from voting by poll fees, local regulations, and other
barriers even after the amendment was passed, and black women had spent decades
fighting for the right to vote. At the polls or while trying to register to vote, black men
and women also experienced intimidation and frequently violent opposition. Before all
women could vote equally, it would take more than 40 years.2

The right to vote was eventually granted to American women. Once these
rights were established, feminists started what several scholars call the "second wave"
of feminism. The 1960s saw the start of the second wave, which lasted into the 1990s.
This wave occurred against the backdrop of the civil rights and anti-war movements,
as well as the rising self-awareness of numerous minority groups worldwide. The
movement centered much of its attention on enacting the Equal Rights Amendment to
the Constitution, which guaranteed social equality for all people regardless of gender,
as sexuality and reproductive rights were major issues. Congress enacted the Equal
Rights Amendment in 1972, seeking legal equality for women and outlawing sex-
based discrimination. The Equal Rights Amendment was enacted by the US Senate on
March 22, 1972, and it was then forwarded to the states for ratification. 3
The Equal Rights Amendment was first put out by the National Woman's Political
Party in 1923 with the intention of ensuring gender equality in law and outlawing sex-

2
"Equal Rights Amendment Passed by Congress," HISTORY, last modified February 9, 2010,
[Link]
3
"Legislature | Definition, Function, Types, & Facts," Encyclopedia Britannica, last modified April 15,
2009, [Link]
 3

based discrimination. The resurgence of feminism in the late 1960s prompted its
introduction into Congress nearly forty years later. It received the necessary two-thirds
support from the US House of Representatives in October 1971, led by feminists Betty
Friedan and Gloria Steinem, as well as US Representative Bella Abzug of New York.
It was approved by the US Senate and forwarded to the states in March of 1972. The
Equal Rights Amendment, however, was not ratified by the necessary 38 states, or
three-fourths, by the date set by Congress due to a conservative backlash against
feminism in the mid-1970s. The U.S. Constitution does not safeguard gender equality
because of the Equal Rights Amendment's rejection, with the important exception of
the ability to vote. Nonetheless, the federal government and every state enacted
significant legislation safeguarding women's legal rights in the late 20th century.
According to the most recent proposed version of the Equal Rights Amendment,
"Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States
or any state on account of sex."4

Due to the first and second waves of feminism, feminism is being reformed in
the third wave through a stronger emphasis on human rights and state interventions.
Informed by post-colonial and post-modern thought, the third wave of feminism
emerged in the mid-1990s. Many conceptions were thrown into disarray during this
phase, such as the ideas of "universal womanhood," heteronormativity, body, gender,
and sexuality.
The argument that women's rights are human rights is being used more frequently to
frame and justify feminist action. This is happening at the same time that feminist
activity is shifting from being focused on autonomous separatist groups to becoming
mainstreamed within civil society and influencing political outcomes. The political
opportunity structure has shifted as a result of these developments, and more women
are now participating in official political spheres like the state and parliament.
Feminist groups have reframed important feminist initiatives within the compelling
justification of universal human rights rhetoric and refocused political claim-making
on the increased representation of women in US politics.

The Development of Feminist Movement in U.S Politics

4
"19th Amendment," HISTORY, last modified March 5, 2010,
 4

In the United States of America, women's rights activists wanted a movement

that addressed their present issues and carried on the work of their forebears when the
third wave got underway in the 1990s. These women also aspired to establish a
mainstream movement that acknowledged the diverse obstacles that women of
different racial backgrounds, socioeconomic statuses, and gender identities faced.5

The American generation born in the 1960s and 1970s, known as Generation
X, grew up in a media-saturated, culturally, and economically expanded environment
and led the third wave of feminism, which developed in the 1990s. Third-wave
feminists were critical of some of the views taken by second-wave feminists and what
they perceived as the incomplete work of earlier generations, even as they greatly
profited from the legal rights and protections won by first- and second-wave feminists.
The second wave of women increased economic and professional power and status,
the late 20th-century information revolution's vastly increased opportunities for the
spread of ideas, as well as the emergence of Gen X scholars and activists, all
contributed to the third wave's success. For instance, Anita Hill's testimony during
Clarence Thomas's Supreme Court confirmation hearings in 1991 helped to increase
understanding of workplace sexual harassment. When Democrats moved to the middle
and adopted neoliberalism in the 1990s, the conservative movement that dominated
social and political activities in the 1980s remained. Women from various
backgrounds took part in this campaign. Americans had easier access to knowledge
thanks to the internet and television. With the help of this new technology, women
were able to rise in society. Diverse women made significant contributions to
American society and culture, changing ideas about what it meant to be an American
woman. The late 1970s and early 1980s saw a strong conservative reaction against two
decades of social and political upheaval that dominated political thought. Even after
the 1990s arrived, conservatism continued to be a significant political movement. For
the first time in twelve years, a Democrat took the White House after Bill Clinton's
victory in the 1992 presidential contest. It was a symbol of a change in politics that
saw Democrats adopt neoliberalism and move toward the center. New rules and
regulations that impacted immigrant families and lower-class households were
implemented during this time. As more diverse women entered the political sphere,
they fought for the rights of underrepresented groups. Women addressed issues like
5
"Feminism's Long History," HISTORY, last modified February 28, 2019,
[Link]
 5

police violence, the AIDS pandemic, discrimination against persons with disabilities,
and the significance of LGBTQ+ rights through formal elected posts and grassroots
engagement. 6

This social and political intensity was supported by technological

advancements that altered the way Americans obtained information about their
surroundings. Current events are becoming more widely available thanks to the
Internet and cable news channels. Major events and the way the media represented
them both had a big impact on the experiences of American women in the late 1990s
and early 2000s. Women's experiences were gendered and stereotyped by the media in
everything from national emergencies to political scandals. The third wave of
feminism included precedent-setting Supreme Court cases, women running for
Congress, and grassroots movements. First Lady Hillary Clinton supported women's
rights using her position.7

On June 30, 1966, the National Organization for Women was founded by a group
of activists who wanted to end sex discrimination. Today, the organization remains a
cornerstone of the women's rights movement. The American activist group National
Organization for Women (NOW), established in 1966, supports women's equal rights.
With almost 500,000 members as of the beginning of the twenty-first century, it is the
biggest feminist organization in the US.

The largest grassroots feminist group in the US is called the National Group
for Women. NOW is present in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, with
hundreds of chapters and thousands of members and activists. Since our organization's
establishment in 1966, NOW has worked to advance feminist principles, drive social
change, end discrimination, and secure and defend the equal rights of all women and
girls in all areas of social, political, and economic life.

6
"Feminism: The Third Wave," National Women's History Museum, accessed March 4, 2024,
[Link]

7
Lynne Rienner Publishers. Accessed March 4, 2024.
[Link]
 6

NOW activists advocate for social change through a combination of

conventional and unconventional methods. NOW activists file lawsuits, engage in
substantial political advocacy, and work the courts. In addition, we plan large-scale
protests, marches, protesting, peaceful civil disobedience, and prompt, appropriate
"zap" actions. Contrary to popular belief, which states that marches became outdated
in the 1960s, NOW has reinstated large-scale demonstrations for women's rights.
More than 100,000 people attended a 1978 Equal Rights Amendment march in
Washington, D.C., which was coordinated by NOW. NOW's Marches for Women's
Lives brought the largest-ever women's rights demonstration to Washington, D.C., in
1989, drawing 500,000 advocates of reproductive rights, and in 1992, drawing
750,000.8

Executive Branch under Clinton Administration

During the Clinton administration, the federal government grew more

democratic and more representative of the entire American people since there were
more women in important leadership roles inside the administration. Upon assuming
office in 1993, the Clinton Administration established its own set of requirements for
advancing U.S. national security and achieving its foreign policy objectives. The
administration directed its attention toward global risks and problems that endangered
international security and, consequently, impacted U.S. national security,
acknowledging that the international arena has changed significantly since the bipolar
Cold War era. Following the end of the Cold War, the United States sought to advance
its security objectives by promoting the development of democratic. governments and
civil societies, as well as the expansion of the global capitalist economy. President
Clinton and sympathetic U.S. government officials were persuaded that progress
toward realizing global feminist goals was both desirable and feasible by liberal
feminist insiders and outsiders from NGOs. Through their strategic alliances, they
were able to influence the State Department, USAID, and White House to include
gender equality and women's human rights goals in foreign policies and initiatives that
advance U.S. national and international security interests. These "feminist issues"
aimed to refocus and use state power to incorporate the needs and interests of women
worldwide, address the global issues of violence against women, and address the
8
Kelly Aliano, "The Information Age, 1991-2001," Women & the American Story, last modified May
4, 2023, [Link]
 7

universally unequal political and economic status of women. As a result, U.S.

government foreign policy and foreign assistance officers started to address global
women's rights and women's empowerment in their language, policies, and programs
to a much higher extent than they had in the past because feminist insiders and
outsiders made these strategic links.9

President Clinton has appointed a record number of women to his

administration, and the appointees have had a significant impact. Three of the
prominent women in the executive branch. They are:

1. Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright

2. Janet Wood Reno

3. Donna Edna Shalala

These women are the ones who have worked to gain women's rights, including the
political interests of the United States, and fight violence against women.

Madeleine Albright, the first female Secretary of State

Madeleine Albright, who was born in Czechoslovakia, became the first

foreign-born woman to serve in a president's cabinet when she was picked by
President Bill Clinton for United States ambassador to the United Nations, a cabinet-
rank position, in 1993. She was elevated to secretary of state four years later, during
Clinton's second term, thus becoming the highest-ranking woman in the federal
government's history at the time. As a champion of women's rights, Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright decided to make women's issues central to US foreign policy.
Albright believed that society improved when women were empowered politically and
economically, and that this was an improvement in America's national interests. In
September 2020, the Georgetown Institute for Women Peace hosted a special virtual
commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the U.N. Fourth World Conference in
Beijing to reflect on the progress since 1995, the challenges that remain, and
promising ways forward to continue advancing women’s rights and gender equality. In
conversation with Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and Ambassador Melanne

9
"History of Women in the U.S. Congress," Center for American Women and Politics, accessed March
4, 2024, [Link]
 8

Verveer, Secretary Madeleine Albright reflected on her role as the United States’ first
female ambassador to the U.N. and her legacy.10

Janet Reno, the First Attorney General

Janet Reno was born on July 21, 1938, in Miami, Florida, United States. Reno
served as the United States' first female attorney general from 1993 to 2001 under Bill
Clinton. In 1971, she was appointed staff director of the Florida House of
Representatives' Judiciary Committee, which launched her political career. In 1973,
she was appointed assistant to the state's attorney general in Miami, and she became
state attorney in 1978. She was reelected five times, despite being a Democrat in a
predominantly Republican district. Reno was nominated by President Bill Clinton for
the office of United States Attorney General, and she was easily confirmed by the
Senate. Throughout her political career, especially on domestic violence, she worked
to resist.

Reno also held frequent meetings with women's rights leaders and held
consultations for women's rights. She is also a person who cares very much about the
problems of women. Her early days in office were highlighted by her efforts to win
stronger safety for abortion-seeking women, who were frequently subjected to
physical intimidation by anti-abortion demonstrators. Her most contentious early
action, however, was to direct FBI agents to undertake the last raid on the Branch
Davidian cult stronghold outside Waco, Texas. This police intervention resulted in the
deaths of 86 adults and 17 children. Reno's admission of complete responsibility, as
well as her candor and genuine remorse for the tragedy, helped her gain the respect of
many Americans.11

Donna Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services

Donna Shalala was born on February 14, 1941, in Cleveland, Ohio, United
States. She is an American educator, administrator, and public politician who served
as Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Clinton from 1993 to
2001. Shalala graduated with a B.A. from Western College in Oxford, Ohio, in 1962.
Following graduation, she served in the Peace Corps in Iran for two years. After her

10
Lynne Rienner Publishers. Accessed March 5, 2024.
[Link]
11
Houck, A. M. and Smentkowski, . Brian P.. "Ruth Bader Ginsburg." Encyclopedia Britannica,
January 26, 2024. [Link]
 9

return, she enrolled at Syracuse University, where she got a master's degree in social
science in 1968 and a Ph.D. in 1970. She spent the following nine years teaching
political science and education at universities. While still teaching, she became the
director and treasurer of the Municipal Assistance Corporation in 1975, which is
credited with saving New York City from near bankruptcy. Shalala was the assistant
secretary for policy research and development at the Department of Housing and
Urban Development in Washington, D.C., from 1977 to 1980, under President Jimmy
Carter's administration. In this capacity, she focused mostly on women's concerns,
such as providing shelters, mortgage credits, and advocating for antidiscrimination
legislation. Her primary goals in her new job were reforming the country's healthcare
system's financial structure, developing a statewide vaccination strategy, reducing
tobacco use among children and adolescents, and continuing and increasing AIDS
research. She also collaborated with Vice President Al Gore to promote organ
donation.

Clinton's first term was highlighted by significant accomplishments, notably

Congress' approval of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which established a
free-trade zone for the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Clinton also appointed
several women and minorities to significant government posts throughout his
administration, including Janet Reno as attorney general, Donna Shalala as secretary
of Health and Human Services, Joycelyn Elders as surgeon general, Madeleine
Albright as the first woman secretary of state, Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the second
woman justice on the United States Supreme Court, and Cheryl Shavers as
undersecretary of commerce for technology at the US Department of Commerce.

Legislature Branch under Clinton Administration

The House of Representatives and the Senate compose Congress. Among its
many functions are the passing of laws, setting the government's budget, ratifying
treaties, verifying appointments made by the executive branch, looking into matters
related to the executive branch, impeaching and dismissing members of the judiciary
and executive branch, and addressing complaints from the public. The Senate is
governed by the Constitution, a set of standing rules, precedents established in the
course of the legislative process, and special rules of procedure adopted by statute for
particular types of legislation. These rules determine how bills and resolutions are
 10

moved towards passage, the structure of Senate committees, how debate proceeds on
the chamber floor, and how members cast votes. The Senate takes action on bills,
resolutions, amendments, motions, nominations, and treaties by voting. Senators vote
in various ways, including roll call votes, voice votes, and unanimous consent. The
Senate is composed of 100 senators, two for each state. Until the ratification of the
17th Amendment in 1913, senators were chosen by state legislatures, not by popular
vote. Since then, they have been elected to six-year terms by the people of each state.
Senators’ terms are staggered so that about one-third of the Senate is up for reelection
every two years. Senators must be 30 years of age, U.S. citizens for at least nine years,
and residents of the state they represent. 12
The first piece of legislation the President signed into law, the Family and
Medical Leave Act (FMLA), allows employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid
leave without risking their employment in order to care for a new baby or an ill family
member. Millions of Americans have benefitted from the FMLA since it was enacted,
and the President has increased the number of leave choices available to government
employees. The Clinton-Gore administration has made efforts to reduce the pay gap
and guarantee women receive equitable compensation. Nowadays, the average full-
time working woman makes around 75 cents for every dollar earned by the average
man. Congress has been urged to enact the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would
reinforce the rules against pay discrimination, by the president and vice president.13
The following shows prominent women in the legislative branch and their congress-
related activities
Olympia Snowe
Olympia Snowe became the first elected female member of the State House
and Senate, as well as the only Republican woman in history. Debbie Stabenow (D-
MI) became the first Democrat to serve in the U.S. Senate by taking the same route.
The first female member of both the state legislature and the House of Representatives
in American history was Olympia Snowe. Snowe was elected to the U.S. Senate in
1994. Throughout her career, she held the positions of Chair and Ranking Member of
the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, the first female
Republican to be elected to a full term on the Senate Finance Committee, and the first

12
University of Minnesota Law School Scholarship Repository. Accessed March 4, 2024.
[Link]
13
Kim-Ling Sun, "Learning the History of the Feminist Movement," [Link], accessed
March 4, 2024, [Link]
 11

female senator to chair the Senate Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Sea
power. She also served as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, the Budget
Committee, the Foreign Relations Committee, and the Commerce, Science, and
Transportation Committee.14
Tammy Baldwin
The first openly homosexual or lesbian person elected to Congress as a non-
incumbent was Wisconsin Democrat Tammy Baldwin. She was the first female
member of Congress from Wisconsin. In addition to being the first openly homosexual
senator in American history, Tammy Baldwin was the first elected female
representative from Wisconsin in Congress. In 1998, Tammy became the first female
member of Congress from Wisconsin and the first openly homosexual challenger to be
sent to Congress nationwide, shattering the glass ceiling. She was a member of the
Energy and Commerce, Budget, and Judiciary Committees for seven terms in the
House of Representatives. Tammy spearheaded the fight to include the clause that
permits young people to stay on their parents' health insurance policies until they turn
26 while serving as a member of the US House of Representatives, contributing to the
creation of the historic Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Along with
advocating for student loan changes to make higher education more accessible and
affordable, she was the main sponsor of the Buffett Rule, which ensures tax equity.
She also has a proven track record of opposing unjust trade agreements that have
resulted in the relocation of American jobs abroad. Baldwin said

“Women in Wisconsin need to have their personal and private reproductive or sexual health
information protected, and this legislation takes steps to do that.”
“With the constitutional rights of women threatened, I will do everything I can to safeguard
their privacy and protect their most sensitive reproductive health data so it isn’t collected and
used against them by those who want to interfere with their freedoms.”

She has consistently supported LGBT and women's concerns, such as anti-
discrimination laws and homosexual marriage, throughout her career. She contributed
to the creation of the Affordable Care Act and voted against letting Wall Street and
large banks choose their own regulations.15

14
"Clinton-Gore Accomplishments: Supporting Women and Families." Welcome To the White House.
Accessed March 7, 2024. [Link]
 12

Elizabeth Dole
Elizabeth Dole declared her exploratory committee in March 1999 in an
attempt to secure the Republican presidential nomination for the 2000 contest. Later
on in that year, she withdrew from the race. Dole led the American Red Cross as
president from 1991 to 1998. As the first potential female candidate from a major
political party, Elizabeth Dole ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000
after leaving her position at the Red Cross. Her experience includes two years as
President Reagan's Assistant for Public Liaison and six years as a member of the
Federal Trade Commission. She was the first woman appointed as the United States
Secretary of Transportation in 1983, a position she held for five years. Later, she held
the position of U.S. Secretary of Labor, where her major concerns were efforts to
assist at-risk youngsters, worker safety, and ending the grueling 11-month Pittston
Coal Strike. She has worked to support minorities and women in realizing their full
potential throughout her career. Throughout her years in public service, Elizabeth
Dole developed the skills necessary to mobilize people, find creative solutions, and
encourage collaboration to advance ground-breaking causes of utmost importance. At
the end of 1999, she pulled out of the race.16
Judicial Branch under Clinton Administration
The federal judiciary acts independently of the executive and legislative
institutions, but frequently collaborates with them as the Constitution mandates.
Congress passes federal laws, and the President signs them. The judicial branch
decides whether federal legislation is constitutional and handles other legal
challenges. However, judges rely on our government's executive branch to enforce
court rulings. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States. Article III
of the United States Constitution established the Supreme Court and empowered
Congress to enact legislation establishing a system of inferior courts. The federal
court system now consists of 94 district level trial courts and 13 courts of appeals that
sit below the Supreme Court. 17

15
Dfitzgerald, "Senator Elizabeth Dole," The Elizabeth Dole Foundation, last modified March 3, 2022,
[Link]
16
"Court Role and Structure," United States Courts, accessed March 4, 2024,
[Link]
17
"Feminist Theory – Theoretical Models for Teaching and Research," Open Text WSU – Simple
Book Publishing, accessed March 4, 2024,
[Link]
#:~:text=The%20core%20concepts%20in%20feminist,and%20
 13

During his administration, Bill Clinton appointed over half of the current
federal appellate and district court justices. As a result, he may legitimately claim to
have left an indelible impression on the federal judiciary. During his 1992 presidential
campaign, Clinton vowed to choose bright, diligent, and independent judges who
would promote balance, actively enforce core constitutional rights, and have tempered
judicial temperament. The Clinton Administration's first success in selecting members
of the federal bench who are more diverse and extraordinarily qualified illustrates that
the President accomplished his campaign promises. President Clinton appointed an
extraordinary number and percentage of highly skilled female and minority judges
during his first two years in office. After 1994, however, President Clinton found it
more difficult to nominate women and minorities, as well as fill recurrent federal
court vacancies, owing to the Republican Party's overwhelming majority in the United
States Senate. Since the 1994 midterm elections, Clinton has conferred with members
of the Senate's Republican majority. He seems to be less concerned in hiring
ideologically rigorous justices than in establishing a demographically representative
judiciary with more women and minorities. Early assessments of Clinton's first-term
judges (including those selected when Democrats controlled the Senate) revealed a
moderate voting record on the bench. His candidates also held the highest American
bar. Association ratings for the last four presidents. The difficulty he encountered was
most acute in 2000, when partisan issues, particularly those surrounding the
presidential race, dominated the confirmation process and his influence reached a
bottom at the end of a two-term presidency. President Clinton made it plain that
expanding the number and proportion of highly qualified women and minorities on
the bench would be a significant administration goal.
President Clinton built the most diverse cabinet in history. Over the last eight
years, he has selected seven African American Cabinet Secretaries, and women
account for 44% of Clinton Administration appointments, including Madeleine
Albright, the first woman to serve as Secretary of State, and Janet Reno, the first to
serve as Attorney General. Clinton selected more female judges than prior
administrations and had the highest number of Hispanic judicial nominations. A
record number of persons with disabilities are serving in the White House and across
the Clinton administration
In 1996, the Clinton administration effectively adopted the same techniques as
the previous year. The White House appears to have taken on more responsibility for
 14

selecting candidates, demonstrating a greater willingness to compromise and

appearing to be particularly sensitive to the quirks of presidential election year
politics. From January to July, the Senate approved just three judges, despite the
Senate Judiciary Committee submitting the names of twenty-six nominations for
consideration on the Senate floor. The Republican and Democratic Party leaders
negotiated a deal in July, agreeing to conduct floor votes on one candidate every day.
This agreement allowed President Clinton to nominate five female (25%) and four
minority (20%) nominees out of twenty judges in 1996.18
In the first year of President Clinton's second term, the government basically
repeated the aims and methods it had used in the previous four years. The President
and his advisers relied on aims and methods similar to those used in 1995 and 1996,
owing mostly to the Republicans' 55-45 Senate majority in the 1996 legislative
elections. The White House maintained significant power, which it appears to have
extended and consolidated over the selection of candidates, particularly appellate
court nominees, while deferring to senate recommendations for district court seats.
Concurrently, the government maintained its efforts to discover, tender, and promote
the candidacies of qualified women and minorities. For example, President Clinton
proposed the names of two female attorneys, one African American, and one Hispanic
American federal district judge, for vacant seats on the Ninth Circuit.

In 1997, the President named six women (17%) and five minorities (14%), out
of thirty-six nominees. Clinton concurrently nominated nineteen female attorneys
(31%) and twelve minority lawyers (21%), for sixty-one positions. The numbers and
percentages of women and minorities nominated were comparable to those compiled
four years prior; however, the relatively small number of individuals who received
confirmation stood in stark contrast to the eighty-five judges appointed by President
Reagan during the first year of his second term. All the nominations appear to be quite
skilled, and several of the district judges presented were Republican appointments.
Only twenty-five of Clinton's seventy judicial nominees had been approved by the

18
"Who We Are," National Organization for Women -, last modified July 20, 2016,
[Link]
HdGngy2lgkVY8xufoi3tF5h55moeqGShdB0#:~:text=The%20National%20Organization%20for
%20Women,activists%20in%20the%20United%20States.
 15

Senate as the 106th Congress adjourned in November 1999. The Congressional Black
Caucus, along with other politicians and legal experts, began to advocate that the
president exercises his constitutional authority under Article II, Section 2, to make
temporary "recess appointments" to fill some of those positions. Presidents have
utilized such appointments, which can only be made during the Senate's break and
endure until the end of the following session of Congress, since George Washington.

In 1999, the Clinton administration successfully carried out its judicial

selection obligations. Clinton set noble goals, employed effective tools to achieve
them, and continued to select and nominate several outstanding women and
minorities. These accomplishments are excellent, especially considering the
administration's enormous challenges. Although Clinton contributed to certain
obstacles, including his own impeachment trial, Republican senators may have done
more to accelerate the confirmation process. Finally, the government accumulated a
solid record. Several years of the Clinton Administration, particularly in 2000, show
that the limited number of judges appointed and the relatively few women and
minorities approved may be ascribed in part to political reasons.

In May 2001, Republicans held nominal control of the Senate. During the
Clinton administration, Republicans created a significant delay in the Senate
confirmation process and fought tirelessly to stop Clinton candidates. The slowdown
began after Republicans gained control of the Senate in the 1994 midterm elections,
but it really got off after Clinton was reelected in 1996. Pressure from conservative
groups, such as the Judicial Selection Monitoring Project, also influenced the
Republican strategy. Judicial Selection Monitoring The initiative chastised
Republican senators for supporting Clinton's selections in 1995 and 1996.

Ruth Badar Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court

On June 15, 1993, President Clinton announced Ruth Bader Ginsburg as
White's replacement, who was approved by the United States Senate on August 3,
1993. Associate Justice Harry Blackmun announced his retirement on April 6, 1994,
with an effective date of August 3, 1994. She was endorsed unanimously by the
Senate Judiciary Committee and confirmed by the full Senate on August 3 by a vote
of 96–3.
 16

. Ginsburg was the first Jewish woman and the second woman to serve on the
court. Ginsburg's professional involvement in the issue of gender equality began in
1970, when she was requested to introduce and conduct a law student panel debate on
"women's liberation." In 1971, she wrote two law review papers and led a seminar on
gender discrimination. Ginsburg played a key role in gender discrimination cases
during the 1970s. In 1972, she founded the ACLU's Women's Rights Project and co-
authored a casebook on gender discrimination for law schools. The same year, she
became Columbia Law School's first tenured female faculty member. She wrote
scores of law review papers and composed or contributed to several Supreme Court
briefs on the topic of gender discrimination. During the decade, she appeared before
the Supreme Court on six occasions, winning five.
On the bench, Ginsburg was noted for her strong engagement in oral
arguments and her penchant for wearing jabots, or collars, with her judicial robes,
some of which had symbolic value. Ginsburg wrote the majority judgment in United
States v. Virginia (1996), which ruled that the Virginia Military Institute's men-only
entrance policy violated the equal protection provision. Ginsburg rejected VMI's
claim that its military-focused education was unsuitable for women, stating that the
program was unsuited for the majority of Virginia college students, regardless of
gender.19

Conclusion
Along with the previous feminist movements and women's efforts to gain
equal rights, the third wave got underway in the 1990s. Feminist movements were
encouraged to establish a mainstream movement that acknowledged the diverse
obstacles that women of different racial backgrounds, socioeconomic statuses, and
gender identities faced. Feminists' efforts and the third-wave feminist movement had
a lot of impacts on President Bill Clinton's administration. The Clinton
Administration broke through several barriers to confront the unequal status of
women globally compared to men and to incorporate women's gendered demands into
US assistance and policy efforts. The waves of American feminist movement pushed
women's rights and empowerment onto national social and political agendas as

19
"Tammy Baldwin," Wisconsin Women Making History, last modified November 2, 2022,
[Link]
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Clinton Administration brought feminist aims "into the mainstream of American

policy.".20

For the executive branch, President Clinton appointed a record number of

women to his cabinet, all of whom have made significant impacts for the development
of women’s rights and opportunities. They are Madeleine Albright, secretary of state;
Janet Reno, attorney general; Donna Shalala, secretary of health and human services;
and Alexis Herman, secretary of labor. President Bill Clinton's second-term Cabinet
had the largest proportion of women (41%).

Under Clinton's administration, we can see the percentage of women

representatives in the legislative branch had gone up from 10 percent to nearly 14
percent. There were also prominent female representatives in Congress, such as
Tammy Baldwin, who has committed her life’s work to public service and committed
to making a difference in the lives of working families. Another prominent female
representative, Elizabeth Dole, who was also a candidate for the 2000 Republican
presidential nomination, led the battle to protect women from violent crime. In 1991.
She also introduced the Women’s Equal Opportunity Act, which enhanced the ability
of law-enforcement authorities to combat violence against women and established a
federal monetary remedy for sexual harassment. We can see that women in the
legislative branch have worked hard for society and accomplished significant
milestones. Also, for the judicial branch, President Bill Clinton appointed 396 lower-
court justices. Of Clinton's 396 appointees, 108 were women and 93 were racial
minorities, with 62 black judges and 25 Hispanic judges. Clinton's female appointment
rate (28%) was about double compared to President Jimmy Carter's administration.

Feminist movements in the United States have had an effective impact, and
with technological assistance, women were able to rise in society. The feminist
movements have affected changes in United States society, including women's
suffrage, greater access to education, and more equitable pay with men. At the
beginning, women fought to get their rights to vote. Then eventually, women were
able to represent their states and achieve important positions for the country. Under
Clinton Administration, it can be assessed that women's political participation was

20
"The Women Of Clinton's Cabinet." CBS News - Breaking News, 24/7 Live Streaming News & Top
Stories. Last modified January 17, 2001. [Link]
cabinet/.
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higher in all three branches of the government. This highlights that feminist
movements, especially the first, the second and the third waves of feminism achieved
significant milestones during Clinton Administration.