When state Rep. Sally Kerans was elected to serve the 13th Essex District in 1991, she was the first woman from Danvers ever to hold the position.
“I don’t think that was ever reported, really,” Kerans, who left the House in 1997, said of her win’s significance. “Certainly it wasn’t mentioned much as I recall.”
Now 60 years old, the Democratic legislator made history once again last November when she followed in her own footsteps to also become the second woman from Danvers to be elected to the post following a landslide victory over Republican Robert E. May of Peabody.
In many ways, the win was bittersweet.
“It’s interesting,” Kerans said. “I was the first woman ever elected from Danvers and now 30 years later, I’m the second woman elected from Danvers.
“Make of that what you will.”
The number of women — especially women of color — currently represented in local and state governments still remains low compared to the general population.
Although Kerans said she’s seen significant improvements since her first round in the legislature, the percentage of women in the House of Representatives still hovers at roughly 27 percent, proving there’s still work to be done to achieve equal representation.
“We’re half of the population,” Kerans said. “Women need to see other women leading and need to see that leadership is life experience and lived experience, and that is invaluable as we shape our local, state, (and) national priorities.”
Marblehead Democratic Rep. Lori Ehrlich, who has served the 8th Essex District since 2008, agreed that representation in government is critical for women of all backgrounds, noting the historical significance of Vice President Kamala Harris’ election alongside President Joe Biden last November.
She added that seeing women in positions of power can be just as important for men.
“Any minority that is underrepresented stands to benefit from seeing themselves in their own representation,” said Ehrlich, 57. “(Harris) is the first woman VP, the first Asian VP, the first Black VP, that this country’s ever had.
“In the way girls and women look at me and say ‘I could do that,’ she’s impacting the entire nation, and that’s important.”
Having women directly involved in the decision-making process is also especially crucial for creating sensible, informed solutions for problems that often disproportionately affect women, Kerans said.
“There are women (in government) saying, ‘we’re not earning the same amount,’ or ‘we need to have policies that are more attentive to the needs of working mothers,’” Kerans said. “Childcare is like infrastructure. People cannot work without childcare, so from the perspective of the working mother who needs good, reliable, safe childcare in order to have her job, for the person providing it — oftentimes a woman working as a childcare provider out of her home — it’s an economic issue as well.
“I think we’re finally beginning to see these issues framed in a way that is intuitive to women.”
Ehrlich added: “I think we have different life experiences and that gives us different perspectives. If we’re not part of the conversation, that perspective is lost.”
While there’s a long way to go until government bodies begin to resemble the constituents they serve, Kerans still holds out hope that times are changing.
Since rejoining the House, Kerans said she’s seen what she considers to be a national reckoning when it comes to Americans acknowledging the importance of allowing everyone a seat at the table to give their input regarding issues affecting their own communities.
“I think we’re in this moment of recognizing the importance, the preeminence, of equity, and I think women are very attuned to that,” she said. “We’re in a time when we see that government plays an incredibly important role. Look at what the last four years have shown us. We’ve seen how the numbers of women in Congress, and women of color in Congress, have made the conversation so relevant to people’s daily lives.”
Women frequently understand the importance of running for office at the local level, Kerans said, which is the first step toward making a change in their communities.
“Women look out for their community. They run at the local level because they want to get something accomplished. Oftentimes, a woman will run because of a particular issue, like Lucy McBath in Congress, who lost her son to gun violence,” Kerans said. “That’s why it’s powerful for women to see other women saying ‘here’s my experience. There’s an inequity to address. I’m going to run and I’m going to make sure we deal with this issue.’
“It’s vital that we have women who understand that experience, as only women can, in the halls of power.”
Elyse Carmosino can be reached at [email protected].
