•  
•  

Chapman Law Review

Symposium: 1920–2020: The Effects of Women’s Suffrage 100 Years After the Ratification of the 19th Amendment

Introduction

It is my honor to introduce Chapman Law Review’s second issue of volume twenty-three. This issue consists of submissions for our 2020 symposium: “1920–2020: The Effects of Women’s Suffrage 100 Years After Ratification of the 19th Amendment.”

This issue opens with the keynote address of Honorable Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. We thank her for taking the time to share her experiences and thoughts with us at Chapman Law School.

Our first article, by Ms. Leigh Creighton Bond and Ms. Monika Taliaferro, introduces us to the rise of the reproductive justice lawyer. They argue that voter suppression issues, and the fight for voting rights, are all linked as reproductive justice issues. Next, Ms. Megan Butcher, Ms. Kristine Coats, Mr. Grant Voss, and Ms. Brandy Worden take a unique approach to analyzing laws that impact women in STEM by contributing original research in the form of personal interviews with noteworthy women leaders in STEM. Their work concludes that, while legislation since the Nineteenth Amendment has advanced the status of women in STEM, more can be done to help increase their representation. Thereafter, Dr. Kishor Dere explores the roles and impacts of three noteworthy women in U.S. politics—Eleanor Roosevelt, Nancy Pelosi, and Ivanka Trump. He discusses how, despite their different positions and time periods, each of these women has broken through barriers and achieved many firsts for women in politics. Next, Ms. Reshma Kamath studies the give-and-take process that is the Women’s Movement and the #MeToo Movement. She identifies that women often face additional barriers and hardships in a variety of domains, such as the military and church. Ms. Sherry Leysen conducts extensive analysis on laws by women and laws that affect women. She first looks at laws advanced by women in the California State Assembly and Senate, and then studies how laws in employment, corporate governance, and health have impacted women. Finally, Ms. Brittany Raposa brings us full circle by discussing the impact the Nineteenth Amendment has had on women’s rights and access to reproductive healthcare. She highlights the importance of the right to vote in achieving and retaining access to bodily autonomy.

Chapman Law Review is grateful for the continued support of the members of the administration and faculty that made this Chapman Law Review symposium and the publication of this issue possible, including: Dean of Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law, Matthew Parlow; our faculty advisor, Professor Celestine Richards McConville; and our faculty advisory committee, Professors Deepa Badrinarayana, Frank Doti, Ernesto Hernandez, and Kenneth Stahl. Special thanks go to Dean Cianciarulo for her guidance in soliciting scholars and speakers and to the Research Librarians of the Hugh & Hazel Darling Law Library for their tireless work for the Chapman Law Review. Our Senior Symposium Editor, Bethany Ring, deserves applause for her work and dedication to this incredibly successful symposium. Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to the staff of the 2019–2020 Chapman Law Review—without you, this issue would not have been possible. This semester we experienced a unique situation due to the restrictions and effects of COVID-19, but all of Fowler School of Law and the Chapman Law Review triumphed during this challenging time. I am honored to have been part of this endeavor. As former Dean Kacer told the Class of 2020 during orientation—it takes a village. Thank you to my village.