© 2005 ANEW Magazine / Erickson Publishing, LLC

Barbara Lawton - An Agent of Change

Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton never intended to become a politician, but that hasn’t stopped her from making a difference for women — not only in Wisconsin, but throughout the world

By Judy Frankel

Trying to keep step with Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton as she walks through the halls of the State Capitol isn’t for the faint of heart. Nor is it for someone who isn’t in good physical shape.

Just a heartbeat away from the state’s top office, Lawton is Wisconsin’s first female elected lieutenant governor. Dressed in a well-cut business suit and heels, she stands over 6 feet tall. Her stride is athletic and purposeful; her demeanor confident yet warm. She moves quickly, yet stops often to chat with constituents or share a quick joke with a police officer she addresses by name, asking how his family is doing. Next, Lawton poses for a photo shoot, then waves to a visiting tour group before patiently posing for yet another picture. It’s a flurry of activity, yet Lawton remains articulate and focused throughout, speaking softly but with purpose.

Barb Lawton is a woman on a mission and there’s little time to waste. What’s her hurry? Well, if you’re a woman or a business owner or both, chances are you’ve heard about her groundbreaking public/private initiative: Wisconsin+Women=Prosperity (WWP). Her program has been getting national and international attention for the goals it’s met in improving the economic status of women in Wisconsin. Lately, Lawton has been pounding the pavement, visiting Rotary clubs to share WWP’s “Raise the Grade Tour” and increase awareness about her program. Her goal, and that of her advisory board, is to encourage business owners to pay women the same wage as men for doing the same job, while also pursuing equity in areas like flex time and health care benefits.

But perhaps we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Will the real Barb Lawton please stand up?
Lawton grew up in Hales Corners, Wis., south of Milwaukee. Her family moved to a farm when Lawton was a teen. Although she protested the move at the time, she says today that farm life gave her a perspective on Wisconsin she would not have otherwise gained.

“I came to know the rhythm of rural life, which is really at the bottom of who we are here in Wisconsin,” she says.

The second of five children, Lawton never anticipated a life in politics. “Like all little girls at the time, I was taught that if you became a teacher or nurse, you would have a career that was portable,” she says. In other words, you would be able to follow your husband as he established his career.

From her mother Helen, Lawton learned a great deal. But it would be many years before she fully appreciated the lessons.

“I think I always underestimated my mother’s power,” she says now. “She comes from a different era and may have had a different style, but she always found a way to continue to advance the level in which she used her natural gifts.”

As a high school student, Lawton was determined to become an actor, but she also played the bassoon — which proved to be her undoing.

“I thought I had the part of Guinevere all locked up when we were doing ‘Camelot’ one year,” she recalls. “But then they found out I played bassoon and that was that,” she says with a laugh. The musical’s director felt she would be better used in the orchestra and that’s where she stayed.

Entering adulthood
Lawton graduated from Waterford Union High School and went on to college, but her education was put on hold after a whirlwind romance at the age of 23. Lawton met Cal, the man who would become her husband, in June of 1973. The couple was married by November. They soon started their family with Amanda, now 31, and Joseph, 28. It was the best of times and the most frustrating of times.

“I loved parenting, but it was very difficult,” Lawton admits. “I was a young mother who hadn’t yet established myself in any adult world and I found myself being consumed by motherhood.”

At home with her children, Lawton candidly admits to her restlessness. “I had left college to get married and have kids and was keen on returning,” she says. “[Women] don’t talk about it a lot. You know, everyone thinks you’re supposed to be tickled pink about every moment of motherhood and the reality is that it can be very difficult.”

It was 1985 before Lawton’s children were in school and she felt able to finish her degrees in Spanish. It’s a move that led to a host of opportunities, including stints abroad in Oaxaca, Mexico, and Santiago, Chile.

Coming home
Back in Wisconsin, Lawton and her family settled in Green Bay, where she became a business consultant on international culture and an active volunteer. She’s been called a lifelong community activist, a description that sits well with her. As the founder of Latinos Unidos, the Green Bay Educational Resource Foundation, and the Green Bay multicultural center, she’s proud of the work she has done in her community. And, not surprisingly, people took notice of that work. In 1999, Lawton was named Feminist of the Year by the local chapter of the National Organization for Women, an honor made all the more meaningful when her daughter, Amanda, gave the keynote speech.

A reluctant politician
Lawton came to civic activism at an early age. She volunteered for State Senator Eugene McCarthy at the tender age of 16, two full years before she could cast a vote herself.

Sitting on a Mission-style couch in her office sipping tea, Lawton recalls that her own rise to political prominence came many years later. It was the late 1990s by the time she felt she had cemented her commitment to civic life and was ready to test the political waters.

Prior to her 2002 win for lieutenant governor, Lawton had two unsuccessful bids for office (one for state senate in 1996, the other for lieutenant governor in 1998). After two losses, she admits she was ready to give up, but it was a groundswell of public support and the words of her husband that led her to run once more. The phrase that changed her mind?

“He said, very clearly to me,” she remembers, “’So, are we going to continue to keep government in the hands of those who abuse the privilege?’”

It was just the impetus she needed.

Although she and Cal knew the sacrifice that running for office would entail, “he just understood and supported me,” Lawton says. “I have never felt any guilt coming from him. He is just interested in what I am doing,” she adds of the man she married 33 years ago. His support, however, doesn’t stop Lawton from feeling her own guilt.

“This is the first time in my life I have been inaccessible to my children,” she admits, “and I have a lot of guilt about that.” But she takes her responsibilities as lieutenant governor seriously. “It’s a seven-days-a-week job,” she says matter-of-factly.

Second in command
So what’s it really like to be the lieutenant governor of Wisconsin? The appointment encompasses a range of responsibilities. While you may find Lawton in a Blackhawk helicopter, entertaining foreign dignitaries and welcoming troops home from foreign lands, you won’t see her acting as a figurehead at ribbon cuttings. Lawton says she’ll go to almost any speaking engagement, but she wants it to be substantive.

Lawton especially enjoys traveling, because it keeps her in touch with the people.

“Travel is what keeps you connected. What I bring to this office — among other things — is my expertise in understanding how public policy plays out with most of the people who live here in Wisconsin, away from Madison,” she adds. “I need to be able to carry their perspective with me as I address the work of this state and I can’t get [that perspective] without leaving Madison.”

An advocate for women
After being sworn into office in January 2003, Lawton’s first order of business was to examine a “status of women” report. The news wasn’t good. A 2002 national survey found that on average, women earn 76 cents to the dollar for similar work done by men. In Wisconsin, that number is 71 cents. Lawton found the news personally unacceptable and felt compelled to act. Hence the beginnings of the task force that would eventually become WWP.

Its motto? “When Women Thrive, Wisconsin Thrives.” It’s a slogan that summarizes the economic imperative of raising the grade for Wisconsin.

“The truth of the matter is that we can’t afford the status quo,” Lawton says. The project is one that’s extremely important to her.

“Not only do I feel like it’s my baby,” she says, “[I feel like] I gave birth to it 12 times — in the breech position,” she adds with a laugh. In spite of its difficult beginnings, the group has come into its own. Last year, WWP became a 501©3 non-profit organization.

Pat Alea, a nationally recognized business consultant, is a friend of Lawton’s. The two have worked together closely over the years on a number of projects, particularly on WWP. Alea’s assessment of her friend and colleague? “I’m in awe,” she says emphatically. “Barb Lawton is the real deal, and that is in no way common in public service.”

Other professionals sing her praises as well. Marsha Block, executive director of WWP, describes her as “a tireless visionary and out-of-the-box thinker who’s accessible and open-minded and who encourages open dialogue.”

Life at the Capitol
Coming to work at the Capitol and sharing her message throughout Wisconsin are two more things Lawton loves about her job.

“I love this building and the way we have carefully maintained it,” says Lawton of the Capitol. “I feel a great sense of pride in serving the people of Wisconsin. It’s impossible to come to work and walk the halls of this great building without feeling an incredible weight, not in the sense of burden but rather in the sense of responsibility of being a public servant. It’s a tremendous privilege and the beauty of this building underlines that privilege.”

A friend of the arts

Another subject Lawton feels passionate about is the arts. Appointed to a three-year term with the Wisconsin Arts Board by Gov. Jim Doyle in 2003, Lawton is proud to serve.

To showcase various artists to the public and her colleagues, Lawton unveils a public exhibition featuring the work of a Wisconsin artist every six weeks. She displays the work in her outer and inner offices and encourages others to do the same. She developed the popular bipartisan Capitol Arts Walk, which showcases some of Wisconsin’s most talented artists thoughout the Capitol.

George Tzougros, executive director for the Wisconsin Arts Board, is pleased by her appointment and effort. “She’s got a passion for the issue and a great knowledge about working with groups,” he says.

Building bridges, connecting people
For many, politics is a divisive business, but Lawton is determined to build bridges and bring people together. Case in point? Her corporate advisory board — a collection of men and women who are the on-the-street messengers of WWP — consists of an assortment of business leaders who don’t all share her political ideology. Yet that doesn’t stop them from respecting her message.

James Carlson, vice president of Smith Barney-Citigroup in Madison, is one such member. Carlson was introduced to Lawton through a colleague, Mary Strickland. While their political perspective differs — Carlson is “a card-carrying Republican” while Lawton is an avowed Democrat — both share a commitment to advancing the status of women.

Peggy Patterson, human resources director for Harley-Davidson Motor Company is another member.

“Peggy represents an enlightened group of Wisconsin corporate leaders who are changing the way companies conduct business in our state,” Lawton says. “My corporate advisory board is determined to infect other businesses with practices proven to elicit the strongest contributions of women to grow the bottom line for companies,” she adds.

And it works. “It is this wonderful ‘Ah ha!’ moment that you can see in the faces of these business owners,” says Carlson. “And it’s just wonderful.”

Lawton is cognizant of the shadow she casts as a first-generation elected female politician, and she surrounds herself and connects with like-minded leaders, locally and around the globe. These include former CEO of Hewlett Packard Carly Fiorina, Queen Noor of Jordan, former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell and former President of Ireland Mary Robinson. Her thoughts about keeping such esteemed company? “I am proud that our Wisconsin plan for women will inform strategies for women around the world,” she says humbly.

Finding downtime
So how does the lieutenant governor unwind? It’s not easy.

“There is little downtime in this office,” Lawton admits. Still, she relishes the rare times she can escape to her family home, north of Algoma on Lake Michigan. The rest of the time, she and Cal live in Madison. Thinking of her home in Algoma, she grows pensive. “I am truly at peace there,” she says. “I can look out a window and see a lifetime of family memories, such as my daughter’s wedding. Then, I look out on another direction and remember special Fourth of July gatherings. It is the one place that I truly unwind.”

For Lawton, unwinding means reading cookbooks and planning small dinner parties. She’s fascinated by ethnic cooking and is learning how to cook Persian food. She relishes spending time with her four grandchildren and her office is stocked with toys just in case they stop by, which they often do.

Changing history
Lieutenant Governor Barb Lawton hopes to make a difference on behalf of all women, but some of the women she’s affected most are those closest to her. Daughter Amanda has followed in her mother’s political footsteps by working for State Senator Jon Erpenbach. As for Amanda’s daughter, Bella, who’s just 4 1/2? It’s Lawton’s fondest wish that by the time she becomes an adult, greater equality will exist between the sexes, for Lawton still comes upon things that horrify her.

“I was shopping for a present for Bella one day and stopped in a darling little store [in Milwaukee]. I spied some cute T-shirts, size 4–6x that said, ‘Math makes me dizzy,’” Lawton says, incensed. “Think about what message that little girl is getting when she receives a gift like that!”

Lawton had to wait many years before making her mark on society, but Bella shouldn’t have to wait nearly as long, thanks to the hard work of the remarkable woman she calls Grandma.