By Laura Weber, Michigan Public Radio Network
LANSING, MI –
A group of female state lawmakers have met to discuss ways to encourage more women to run for office. About a quarter of the lawmakers in the state House are women, and there are only four female lawmakers in the state Senate.
Democratic state Representative Stacy Erwin Oakes says she and her female colleagues have been meeting throughout the year at the state Capitol to discuss issues that are important to women.
"We talked about issues, abortion issues, we've talked about getting other women involved with politics," Oakes says. "There is a bipartisan group that meets as well."
Oakes says at least half of the lawmakers in the Legislature should be women to reflect their numbers in the population.
Oakes appeared on WKAR television's "Off the Record."