RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Rachel Martin. It took a couple of centuries, but there's finally a room on the Capitol's Senate side named for a woman - in fact, there are two. One was named for Barbara Mikulski. The Maryland Democrat was the longest-serving female senator. The other salutes the first woman to be elected to both House and Senate - Maine Republican Margaret Chase Smith. It's great news, but progress has been slow. Just a reminder, female senators didn't have their own bathroom until 1992. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.