If Carrie Chapman Catt, Susan Faludi and Lisa Simpson weren’t encouraging enough, get set for some major feminist inspiration. To help commemorate the opening of the Catt Center and celebrate the success and pride of women in politics everywhere, an Iowa native is coming to visit Ames.

Suzanne O’Dea Schenken, author of Legislators and Politicians: Iowa’s Women Lawmakers, will be on hand at the Catt luncheon Friday in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union to sign copies of her book; she will also appear at the dedication ceremony at the Catt Center Friday afternoon.

Schenken’s book, published by Iowa State University Press, details the lives and experiences of female lawmakers, from past pioneers to present-day politicians in the state legislature.

Politics is old hat for Schenken. Having served as a former lobbyist, floor clerk for the House of Representatives and reporter for the Sioux City Journal, she has had mountains of opportunity to observe and write about women who have broken out of the “housewife” mold and into the traditionally male field of government.

For her book, Schenken interviewed several women who served in the General Assembly from the 1940s and 50s through the present day; these chats would span from three to six hours and covered as much info as a luncheon or shopping spree between friends. “We talked about their personal lives, how they decided to run for the legislature and the reception once they got there,” Schenken said.

One common yarn threaded throughout all of the stories: the treatment women received from their male co-workers. Even when America was in the throes of turmoil over women’s rights and liberation, females did not find equal treatment wherever they went. “There was a sense of false gallantry,” Schenken explained. “They were given flowers from their male colleagues, but they were not allowed in the back rooms. They were treated with exaggerated courtesy.

“One group of women in the early 60s gave each man a rose just for letting them speak on the floor. Men never had to do something like that. But it does give you a sense of the tone of the General Assembly.”

Schenken pointed out that the women who represented the people in state governments did not turn up their noses at others. Rather, they were down-to-earth and approachable, with an amazing knack for taking the bull by the horns. “They are like our neighbors, our mothers, our grandmothers,” Schenken said. “They were in many of the same kinds of community activities; they were active in their churches.

“They bake cookies and have bridal showers and can tomatoes and cultivate voters. Yet at some point they decided to take that step, using skills they learned at PTA, to run for office.”

Once women boldly marched into the political arena, they encountered quite a few phenomena that shocked them. Not only the comments from their living-in-the-Stone-Age male colleagues, but also the strength they drew from their new positions.

“It’s a culture where power and the use of power are driving forces,” Schenken said. “Women had to adjust; it was unlike anything they’d ever felt. Power for women — those words didn’t go together … Nobody can give you power. Somebody might suggest how you can use it or claim it, but you yourself have to decide that you have it.”

Women also found that having ovaries and higher levels of estrogen meant that they had to put in extra effort and hours just to prove themselves. “Every women I ever spoke to insist that she has to work harder [than men],” Schenken said. “How’s that quote go? ‘A woman in the legislature has to look like a lady, work like a dog and think like a man.’ And it didn’t originate from some staunch feminist, but from a woman from Garner, Iowa.”

All of the crap women had to go through just to make themselves heard and taken seriously is definite cause for admiration. They paved the way for all people, from young girls who want to run for student council to their mothers campaigning for mayor.

“Watching women work, listening privately in caucus, standing up making themselves visible — I’m still in awe of them,” Schenken said. “It takes a lot of courage to see if they can get financial support, popular support. It’s a risky business.”

Suzanne O’Dea Schenken will be in the Chautauqua tent by the Catt Center for the 11:30 a.m. panel discussion on women politicians.

The luncheon at the Union starts at 1 p.m.; the signing will begin around 12:30 p.m. and will resume following the luncheon speaker. The dedication of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center starts at 3 p.m.