Griffiths, Martha Wright (1912–2003)

American politician. Born Martha Edna Wright on Jan 29, 1912, in Pierce City, Missouri; died April 22, 2003, in Armada, Michigan; dau. of Charles Elbridge (mail carrier) and Nelle (Sullinger) Wright; attended Pierce City public schools; University of Missouri at Columbia, BA, 1934; University of Michigan Law School at Ann Arbor, LLB, 1940; m. Hicks George Griffiths of Schenectady, NY (lawyer), Dec 28, 1933; no children.

US congressional representative (D-Michigan) who sponsored the Equal Rights Amendment and worked for more equitable laws in the areas of welfare, pensions, credit, and health care; admitted to Michigan Bar (1941); joined legal department of American Automobile Insurance Company (1941–42); served as contract negotiator for Army Ordnance in Detroit during World War II; went into law partnership with husband and G. Mennen Williams (1946); served as state representative (1949–52); served as recorder and judge, Recorder's Court, Detroit (1953–54); as a member of the US House of Representatives (1955–74), was the 1st woman appointed to the Joint Economic Committee (JEC, 1961) of the House and the Senate, which influenced the all-important congressional budget; served on the Ways and Means Committee, the 1st woman member of that influential committee, where she spent more time on the tax code than on any other issue, and quickly saw that it discriminated against women; pushed for Civil Rights Act of 1964, successfully demanding an amendment that included "sex" as well as race, color, religion, and national origin; was lieutenant governor of Michigan (1982–90) and scholar-in-residence, University of Missouri (1990–91). Awarded 29 honorary degrees; received Alice Paul Award, National Women's Party (1983); named Michigan Woman of the Year (1990); inducted into National Women's Hall of Fame (1993).

See also Emily George, Martha W. Griffiths (University Press of America, 1982); and Women in World History.