Why is Senator Tammy Duckworth bringing her infant to the Senate so significant?  Senator Duckworth is a trailblazer. She’s a respected lawmaker and a war hero, but she’s also a woman and mother.  Bringing her newborn to the Senate this week was both a practical (the Senate requires that votes be cast in person), as well as a symbolic act, shining a light on the everyday dilemmas that women who pursue a career in politics (or any profession) shouldn’t have to make.  

For practical reasons, Senator Duckworth needed to bring her baby to the Senate chamber because Senators are required to cast their votes in person.  So before yesterday, what were her choices? Leave her newborn at home to cast a vote or stay home, don’t vote and let down her constituents?  In 2018, it is ridiculous to think those were her only “options.”

What Senator Duckworth did was not just push for a small provision to accommodate herself, the first sitting Senator to ever give birth, it was a move that carries with it much greater implications.  

Duckworth is a competent, accomplished and recognizable public servant.  Rather than give up her vote today, she fought for months to change a silly rule that would have prevented her from doing her job in a workplace dominated by men.  Her workplace just so happens to be the United States Senate.

If we want our laws to be fair and inclusive, shouldn’t the places where laws are made be fair and inclusive?  And if the Senate is to represent the interests of all Americans, those principals should certainly extend to the work realities of its own diverse members.  Small changes like yesterday’s do more than accommodate one Senator, they help to remove barriers for all women and men who may want to run for office.

But before we celebrate this small victory, consider this.  Just because yesterday’s vote to allow babies into the senate chamber was unanimous, the boys club isn’t over yet.   ABC reported that “Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar says she spent nearly two months privately reassuring Republicans and Democrats that the new rule would not mean diaper-changing or nursing in the Senate chamber.”

Yet Senator Duckworth’s decision to bring her infant to the US Senate to cast her vote was a bold move that will hopefully lead to other workplaces becoming more open and accommodating to all.