Part 1 of a tribute to notable Wisconsin-born women
Tammy Baldwin has the type of success story that is relatable to all, regardless of specific life experiences. Raised by her grandparents, Baldwin worked her way up through the ranks of government, overcoming obstacles such as severe illness and caring for her grandma as she aged. Baldwin has been instrumental in passing countless policies at the state and federal level relating to health insurance, discrimination, student debt and more. As Wisconsin’s first female Congressmember and Senator, as well as the first openly LGBTQ+ senator in our nation’s history, Tammy Baldwin’s accomplishments are inspirational across the board.
If you’re not yet convinced of Baldwin’s awesomeness, maybe this will pique your interest: she is also a University of Wisconsin-Madison alum! Tammy Baldwin graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1989, after double majoring in political science and mathematics at Smith College. Besides being an alumnus herself, Baldwin has even more connections to UW in the form of her family’s professions. Both of her grandparents worked at the university; her grandfather as a scientist and her grandmother as head costumer of the Theater Department.
Baldwin was raised by her grandparents because her mother struggled with substance use disorder, something she is very passionate about helping other citizens with. This is why fighting the opioid epidemic is one of her chief priorities as a Wisconsin senator. She is also very dedicated to improving the lives of Wisconsinites through bettering access to healthcare. After suffering a serious illness as a child which gave her the label “pre-existing condition”, Baldwin’s health insurance prices rose significantly. Because of her grandparents’ struggle to find any affordable insurance for her, Baldwin was determined to make a change. She advocated for the Affordable Care Act, and her support led to a change which allows kids to stay on their parents’ health insurance until they are 26 years old. Besides this triumph, Baldwin has also championed the Medicare for All Act, which would expand Medicare to more uninsured Americans and help lower the prices of prescription drugs.
One of Baldwin’s greatest achievements was co-authoring the Equality Act, which would ensure security for many marginalized groups. This act prohibits employers from discriminating against anyone due to sexual orientation or gender identity, without any exemption for religious ideals. It essentially amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include sex, gender and sexual orientation as groups who cannot be discriminated against in public places. Some specific wins from this act would be protecting people’s rights to breastfeed in public and eliminating what is colloquially referred to as the “pink tax”, a higher tax on products marketed as feminine.
Tammy Baldwin is, by definition, a history-maker. Her first push into federal politics was in 1998, when she was elected to the House of Representatives. She was the first woman to be elected to the House in Wisconsin, and the first openly gay (non-incumbent) member of the House of Representatives. If that success wasn’t enough, she broke both of these barriers again! When Baldwin was elected as a Wisconsin senator in 2012, she became Wisconsin’s first female senator and the first openly LGBTQ+ senator in the whole United States. Her success inspires me as well as many other women and members of the LGBTQ+ community. I remember the very first time I learned about Tammy Baldwin; I was immediately enamored by this history making woman. Seeing people who are just like you succeed has indescribable effects on your perceived ability to succeed yourself. I will forever be grateful for inspirational women like Tammy Baldwin.