Q&A with Kim Heckler, author of 'A Woman of Firsts'

Kim Heckler is the author of A Woman of Firsts, a biography of her mother-in-law, Margaret Heckler. Margaret Heckler, a Republican, represented Massachusetts in Congress from 1967 to 1983. She then served as Ronald Reagan’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, and then as his US ambassador to Ireland. 

Here are excerpts from a recent interview with Kim Heckler:

On why she wrote the book:

“So, Margaret Heckler was my mother-in-law, and I spent 35 years with her. And through that time period, I realized that I was in the presence of a historical figure whose story had never been told. And as I started interviewing people, thinking I’m going to write a book, I had it quoted to me that she was one of the most powerful women in 1983 in America, along with Sandra Day O'Connor. And yet history has a way of sometimes missing important women that that did a lot for all Americans. And Margaret Heckler was one of those women.”

“After I was tasked in the family with going through some boxes in a storage bin in Arlington, Virginia, it was then that I opened up these these important papers from George H.W. Bush, President Reagan, Lyndon Johnson, with information that I thought was compelling for all Americans to know — how Nixon wanted her to be the first Supreme Court woman—Supreme Court justice, how she had her say and flew over the Vietnam War. and how and why Ronald Reagan picked her to become the Secretary of Health and Human Services. It took a lot of digging. It took a lot of research, but I felt like that the story was so compelling because she was given away at birth by her Irish immigrant parents. So it's an immigrant child story. It's also an American success story. And I just feel like in our polarized times, we need more stories about Margaret Heckler and stories like hers to let people know that whatever they—wherever they came from, they can accomplish the American dream.”

On some of Heckler’s firsts:

“She was the first woman elected to Massachusetts in her own right without following in the steps of a deceased husband. So, she became a woman of firsts in so many different capacities. She was the first woman ‘designated survivor’ under Ronald Reagan…all through her life, it was a series of firsts for her. She would be the second woman to graduate from Boston College Law School, in a time where 1% of women were lawyers in America. So, her path really—she needed to cut it as she went along because there wasn't a clear path. And she was the only woman newly elected to Congress in 1966, coming in with 70 men, including George H.W. Bush. He would go on to become the president of their freshman class, and she would be the vice president.”

On her first day in Congress:

“As she was taking the oath of office, she heard two congressmen behind her say, ‘How did that secretary get on the floor of the House?’ And then one of them responded, ‘Well, don't you know she beat out Joseph Martin?’ And so what was interesting about it is 16 years later, she would become the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and she was tempted more than once to go back to her fellow congressmen to say, ‘The secretary is back, Madam Secretary!’”

On her work to give women the same financial rights as men:

“So, as a lawyer and a congresswoman coming in in 1967, she had no right to credit in her own name. And shortly after she joined Congress, she joined the House Banking and Currency Committee, which is where that type of legislation would need to be born. And so she found herself in a group of 37 men, one widow and herself. And she, of course, especially with a husband that had a struggling business, she was the breadwinner of her family. She knew that this was something that all women deserve to have. But, of course, based on their ability to pay, right? Just like a man. And so she took it on herself to invite the CEOs of a lot of the major financial institutions to come into her congressional office, and they all said the same thing — most of the wives are homemakers, housewives. They will not pay their bills. But Margaret reminded them that many women are single, divorced, or needing to get credit in their own name, widows. So, with that in mind, they started to see the other side of it. But it wasn't until a Mastercard bank executive, a woman, came along and, with these other CEOs of the banks, and she said, ‘Gentlemen, you're missing half your market. You're missing half your market by not extending credit to women.’ And after that happened, things started to move in the right direction. And in October 28th, 1974, Gerald Ford signed into law the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.”