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Women’s right to vote became a guarantee 92 years ago, with Sunday marking the anniversary of the 19^th ´¡³¾±ð²Ô»å³¾±ð²Ô³Ù’s adoption into the U.S. Constitution. Several of Oregon’s prominent female judges, attorneys and policymakers share with Briefly Legal how the amendment paved the way for women in the legal profession.

Chris Kitchel, partner at Stoel Rives: While winning the right to vote was absolutely essential, the support for women’s rights really started to gain critical mass in the 1960s and ’70s. I think one of the most significant things was that women started to gain and exercise economic power. We still don’t have an Equal Rights Amendment which, when you think about it, is pretty dumbfounding.

Last year, I spent a couple of months in Africa dealing with victims of gender aggression and domestic violence, and women are still essentially property there. I thought a lot about this issue and about how quickly change for American women happened during my generation.

Oregon Supreme Court Justice Virginia Linder: Giving women a greater role in their own lives, civic life and their perception of how they can participate was, in a word, empowering. Just look at the Roaring ’20s. Women bobbed their hair, wore shorter skirts and danced in beads. I think we underestimate the ways these social markers have an impact politically.

World War II marked another big change because men weren’t going to law schools, and the 1970s mobilized a younger generation entirely. When you add the women’s rights movement on top of that, you had this huge influx of women entering law school.

Mitzi Naucler, Oregon State Bar president and Legal Aid Services of Oregon regional director: Once women secured the legal right to participate in the political sphere, it was a short step from there to understanding the power of the rule of law in securing other important legal rights. The 19^th Amendment was proof that women were going to have to use the law to secure their rights. Entering the legal profession seemed like a good way for women to prepare themselves for the political challenges of securing real equality.

Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown: The suffrage movement was more than just about voting; it meant power and equal rights for women in all things. Women like Oregon’s Abigail Scott Duniway understood this and spent more than 40 years fighting for a woman’s right to vote. She knew it was the stepping stone for women and their ascension in society. I hold great appreciation for the warriors who fought before me. Without their battles I would not have had the opportunity to become a lawyer, a lawmaker and Oregon’s 24th Secretary of State.