“ABSOLUTE EQUALITY FOR WOMEN IN LAW AND CUSTOM”: GAIL LAUGHLIN’S FIGHT FOR GENDER EQUALITY IN THE MAINE LEGISLATURE

“ABSOLUTE EQUALITY FOR WOMEN IN LAW AND CUSTOM”: GAIL LAUGHLIN’S FIGHT FOR GENDER EQUALITY

IN THE MAINE LEGISLATURE

By Phyllis Herrick vonHerrlich

Advisor:  Dr. Carol N. Toner
 

An Abstract of the Paper Presented

in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the

Degree of Master of Arts

(in Liberal Studies)

May 2010

Gail Laughlin was among the first group of women elected to the Maine Legislature shortly after full suffrage was gained.  She served six terms representing Portland in the Maine Legislature between 1927 and 1941, three in the House of Representatives and three in the Senate.  Laughlin was a leading political figure in Maine and an effective public servant who worked for equality in law for Maine women. 

Laughlin was born in Robbinston, Maine, in 1868.  She graduated from Portland High School in 1886, earned a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College in 1894, and a law degree from Cornell University’s Law Department in 1898.  She was a lecturer and organizer for the National American Woman Suffrage Association, a founder and first president of the Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, a leader in the National Woman’s Party, and active in myriad local and state political and public service organizations.

This paper explores the specific legislation Laughlin sponsored to address the issue of gender equity for Maine women.  Laughlin was one of the most involved and effective legislators during her terms of service.  She was informed, determined, confident, eloquent, and courageous in her legislative work.  She is a role model today for women who want to enter the political sphere, whether by running for elected office or by serving in organizations, clubs, or in other capacities to further the public good.  Gail Laughlin is someone Maine citizens need to know more about in order to take pride in her accomplishments and to understand through the example of her work how to be an effective leader.  Further, Laughlin’s service in the Maine Legislature is an example of the ways in which women worked for social change and equal rights for women in the decades after gaining full voting rights.