Governor Janet Mills, Maine’s first woman Governor, issued the following statement in honor of International Women’s Day:

“The barriers and roadblocks I have encountered in my life as a woman are those faced by hundreds of thousands of women across Maine and millions more across the globe. Despite that adversity, women are succeeding, rising to the top in business, politics, and so much more. We are fighting for ourselves and for our children and grandchildren; for the equality of generations to come. I want every little girl in Maine to grow up knowing that she can be whatever she wants, including Governor of this great state, so long as she is willing to work for it. And I want to build a state that continues to empower women and provides them with the tools that can help them succeed. Today, on International Women’s Day, let us renew our commitment to building a state, nation, and world that values women, that promotes us as equals, that hears our voices, and that empowers us to succeed.” 

Governor Janet Mills is Maine’s first woman Governor. In her historic election, she earned more votes than any governor in state history and is first governor since 1966 to win a majority of the vote for her first term. She was also the first, and only, woman Attorney General in Maine and the first woman District Attorney in New England. The Governor also co-founded the Maine Women’s Lobby.