Is Gender Still an Issue?

Tonight's election will make history in Massachusetts. The voters most likely will elect either a minority or a woman to the position of governor. Compared with other states, women have not fared well seeking higher ofice in Massachusetts. Tonight, Republican Kerry Healey is hoping to change that.

WBUR'S Bob Oakes speaks with three women about the so-called gender issue. He opens the discussion with Carol Hardy Fanta. She's Director of the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at UMass Boston's McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies.

Bob Oakes also talks with Jane Swift, the only woman to have served as governor of Massachusetts, and Shannon O'Brien, former state treasurer and 2002 democratic nominee for governor.