Margaret Heckler’s compassionate and bipartisan work is a shining example of a hero who transcended political assumptions and expectations to help America’s women and under-served communities.
The daughter of Irish immigrants, Heckler represented the American dream. She was the first woman to earn a "triple crown" in politics: serving in Congress (R-MA), on a presidential Cabinet, and as an ambassador--all groundbreaking achievements for a woman of her era. Her career spanned five presidencies, from the 1960s through the 1980s (Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan). The fiery Irish Republican mastered the seemingly unbeatable game of being a woman in a man’s world and a Republican in a Democratic state, becoming a champion for others against all odds.
In a time when many women entered public office by succeeding their deceased husbands, Heckler made her own name. Over the course of sixteen years in Congress, she successfully advocated for the Equal Rights Amendment and authored the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which for the first time in American history gave women the right to take out loans and credit cards in their own names and become financially independent. She also singlehandedly urged presidential nominee Ronald Reagan to appoint the first female Supreme Court Justice (Sandra Day O’Connor). Later, as Reagan’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, Heckler successfully made AIDS the top health priority in America and commissioned the Heckler Report to address health disparities among minority populations. When her high-profile divorce resulted in her forced resignation as HHS Secretary, she was appointed to serve in one of the most sought-after diplomatic posts as the first female ambassador to Ireland.
This is the first book to tell the story of Heckler’s remarkable life and the behind-the-scenes details of her biggest accomplishments. A Woman of Firsts features interviews with leading figures such as former HHS Secretary Dr. Louis Sullivan, former Representatives Elizabeth Holtzman (D-NY) and Connie Morella (R-MD), former US Attorney General Edwin Meese, former White House Chief of Staff Jim Baker, and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA). It is a thoroughly researched tribute to a woman who helped break the glass ceiling and the remarkable battles she fought to provide equality and justice for many.