Is Success Genetic? When Power Women Come In Pairs

Out of just 90 women (16.8%) currently serving in the U.S. Congress, two of them are sisters. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), who was elected to the House in 1996, and her younger sister Linda Sanchez (D-CA), who was elected in 2002, are the first and only female duo to ever serve on Capitol Hill.

The Sanchez sisters did not inherit their political power. Conversely, they grew up working poor, daughters of Mexican immigrants who struggled to raise seven children on the father's earnings as an industrial mechanic and mother's odd jobs cleaning houses and selling Avon products. "When you come from a large family you have to scrap and fight for everything you get," Linda recalls, "but it had many advantages. You learn diplomacy, teamwork, coalition building- skills that help me in my job today."

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