When she chose a small women's college in Baltimore, Jennifer E. Hale never imagined how the next four years would broaden her horizons and transform her outlook on life from bashful to bold.

MORE »

In 1998, voters in a focus group were asked to close their eyes and imagine what a governor should look like. "They automatically pictured a man," says Barbara Lee, whose foundation promoting women's political advancement sponsored the survey. "The kind you see in those portraits hanging in statehouse hallways."

MORE »