Iowa is considered one of the more conservative states in its attitude toward women in top political offices.

During the 1994 election year, there were 286 women candidates out of a total of 892, meaning only about 32 percent were women. There were 211 women who won their particular race, but only 25 of those were for state offices.

Those numbers give the perception of a “glass ceiling” for women at the state level, said Joy Corning, Iowa’s lieutenant governor.

Corning said women have made progress in the state’s elected positions, but female politicians still have a lot of catching up to do. She said there are only 10 women in the state’s 50-member Senate.

In addition, the state has never elected a woman as a national senator or representative. Women continue to struggle for equality, Corning said. But, she added, one of their strongest weapons is the vote.

“I would hope and encourage women to think about the right to vote and the responsibility to vote,” she said.

One area where women have made progress in Iowa is the judiciary.

Connie Welu, juvenile court judge in Polk County said: “There is no good reason to not consider women for the bench.”

There are a lot more women appointed to the bench than in the past, and they fit into those roles well, Welu said. But, she said, there is an outdated problem in the pay inequity between male and female judges.

Charlotte Nelson, executive director of the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women, said salary discrepancies are due to sheer discrimination. However, she said, there is pending legislation against salary inequities in federal and state elected positions.

Nelson said one way to end the discrimination is for women to seek traditionally “male” jobs.

But Cecelia Burnett, a state representative who lives in Ames, said she has seen some resistance toward electing women.

Burnett said part of the resistance may be due to the state’s traditional values and beliefs. But then “some people just don’t think women can do the job,” she said. Burnett added that the issue is entirely political.

Burnett said that during the last election, she heard people say they would never vote for Bonnie Campbell — the Democratic candidate for governor — because she was a woman.

She said she thinks the majority of the state would vote for a man over a woman for top state positions. She said people need to open their minds and attitudes when looking at politics.

But “differences in conservative philosophies are slow to change,” she said.