Pennsylvania ranks 49 out of 50 states in terms of hosting a diverse and representative congressional delegation. Men currently hold all 18 House seats and the two senatorial spots in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania has never had a female governor, nor any female Senators. It’s a shocking statistic coming from a northern, mid-Atlantic state. But with the Year of the Woman 2017 sparking intense waves of female empowerment, states all around the country, including Pennsylvania, feel an energizing surge of change. Mary Gay Scanlon, a lawyer from Pennsylvania’s 5th Congressional District, has her own plans for the 2018 midterm elections. After winning her district’s Democratic primary, she will move on to face another woman, Pearl Kim, in the November midterms. “My expectation for November,” Scanlon said, “that Pennsylvania will finally have a woman in its congressional delegation.”
CAREER TIMELINE
1980: Graduated from Colgate University with Bachelor’s
1984: Earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania
1984: Became a judicial clerk for the Superior Court of Pennsylvania
1985: Began her career in public interest when the Support Center for Child Advocates chose her to represent an 11-year-old abuse victim
2006–2007: Appointed Vice Chair of the Tax Commission
2007–2015: Member of the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District Board
2009–2011: Served as President of the School Board
2018: Won the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvania’s 5th congressional district
Present: Mary Gay Scanlon works as Pro Bono Counsel for Ballard Spahr
Congresswoman Susan Davis