While the headcount of women in the Wisconsin Legislature is at an all-time high, it’s still far from representative.
Women hold a total of 41 seats, tying a record set in 2021. But they comprise one-third of the Assembly (33 of 99 seats) and about one-fourth of the Senate (eight of 33).
Moreover, the top three leadership positions in both the Assembly and Senate, both of which are majority Republican, are held by men. Women fare better on the Democratic side of the aisle, with Rep. Greta Neubauer of Racine and Sen. Melissa Agard of Madison the minority leaders of their chambers.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Milwaukee Magazine asked two female Assembly members to talk about working in today’s highly polarized political environment and whether women are being heard in the Legislature.
Republican Rep. Cindi Duchow, 64, a lifelong Town of Delafield resident, has represented Lake Country’s 99th Assembly District since 2015. Rep. Christine Sinicki, 63, is a Milwaukee Democrat of the 20th Assembly District, which includes parts of the South Side as well as Cudahy and St. Francis. She was first elected in 1998.
Both women are married with two children, and while they don’t serve on any committees together, they describe their relationship as cordial, which they exhibited during a joint interview in early September.
Are you able to interact and get along, the way politics is these days?
Sinicki: Things have really changed in the past 15 years or so. There used to be a lot of interacting between the people in the parties. We used to be able to walk off the floor, go to dinner, go for drinks together. We don’t see a whole lot of that anymore. And it’s probably because of the partisan divide. I can talk to Cindi, she can talk to me, we’re very friendly with each other. We’ve never fought over anything, except for maybe on the [Assembly] floor.
Duchow: I think there is actually some of that collegiality [noting several Republican and Democratic lawmakers who socialize together]. I don’t know that it’s so much partisan as just that, in a natural setting, you find people that you gravitate more to than you do others. We’ll be on the floor next week – I can hardly wait to see baby pictures [from Democratic Milwaukee Reps. Evan Goyke and Daniel Riemer].
Sinicki: I see in our caucus, and I don’t know about your caucus, some of the – I like to call them the young ’uns, the new ones that come in – all they are used to is what they see in the news, and that’s all the bickering, the fighting. That’s all they know. That’s not the way things have always been, it’s not the way things should be. They come in with that attitude, and that really bugs me. When you come in, you should come in with an open mind.
Sinicki: I don’t think we’ve ever worked on any legislation together.
Duchow: I don’t know that we have.
Sinicki: Well, maybe we should do that. [Both laugh.]
What changed 15 years ago?
Sinicki: That was really when we saw the tea party starting to come in, and then Act 10 hit. Years later, Democratic lawmakers were still so bitter about Act 10, they would not go across the aisle and talk to anybody. They wanted nothing to do with the Republicans because they still had such a bitter taste in their mouth. My attitude was, I hate what you did, but I don’t hate you. It’s time to move on, and eventually the pendulum is going to swing back. And then you had Republicans who are the crazy Trumpers.
Duchow: I don’t think we have any of those left. I would say there are probably none of those people left in our caucus, and the people who felt that way have changed their minds. I pretty much get along with everybody. There are a few on your side of the aisle who I don’t care for. Everything that people put on their Facebook page, people read, and I think someday they’re going to regret using all those four-letter words. But I have people over there who I like quite a bit.”
Rep. Cindi Duchow (R)
Assembly District 99, Lake Country
Rep. Christine Sinicki (D)
Assembly District 20, Milwaukee, Cudahy, St. Francis
One on one, you can find ways to work with a given lawmaker from the other party, but when it comes to voting, is that different?
Sinicki: There are certain issues that will always come down to partisanship.
Duchow: Right.
Sinicki: No question about it. But a lot of it comes down to what’s the governor going to do on the bill.
Duchow: Right.
Sinicki: The press does like to focus in on the partisan issues, and that’s unfortunate.
Duchow: Most of the Democrats – there’s Milwaukee and Madison, which are obviously big cities. There are things that we’re going to support in rural areas that maybe Chris is not because she doesn’t have a rural area. But I also look at it big-picture: If we don’t support the people up north, they’re all going to be on welfare, [and then we’ll all] be supporting them.
Women hold a record number of seats in the Legislature but comprise one-third of the Assembly and one-fourth of the Senate. Why aren’t women represented more?
Sinicki: The Democratic caucus, we are 50% women, and women hold a number of leadership positions. I think on our side we’re doing a pretty good job at making sure women are represented.
Duchow: We only have 12 out of 64 women in the Assembly, including two in leadership roles. The press is much more favorable to Democrats than they are to Republicans, so we get beat up a lot more, and most women don’t want to do it. You get punched around a lot. Anything we [Republicans] do is a bigger issue [in the media] and most women do not want to take that stress.
Do women have more of a voice than when you joined the Assembly?
Sinicki: We have more of a voice because there’s more of us. I also think that women use that stronger voice much better than men in the Legislature. As women, we tend to be more passionate about our issues; we don’t let go very easily. We can grab onto an issue and we will advocate for that issue until we get what we want.
Duchow: I feel that I do have a say in leadership. I’m a very outspoken person, and I’m pretty tough and I do my homework. So, when I say that this is X, Y or Z, they go, “She’s probably right.” I do feel that I’m respected.
What would you like to see changed that would give women more voice?
Duchow: I wish the press would be even-handed and not favor the left as much as they do, and then I think more women on the right would be willing to step up. And I think that we are still, as Republicans, a male-dominated organization and it’s hard for some of these men to say a woman can do it, too.
Sinicki: I disagree with you about the press, but that’s OK. I’d like to see more women on both sides of the aisle elevated. I spend a lot of time really trying to encourage women to get more involved in their communities and have their voices heard and eventually possibly running for local office. One of the main things that’s keeping women from running is the time commitment – so many women are working full-time jobs, raising a family. I think women need to understand, you can have it all, it just takes a little work.
