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South Jersey Legislator Honored For Getting Women Involved In Government

by KYW's David Madden

TRENTON, NJ (CBS) --  A member of the New Jersey State Senate received national honors earlier this month for her efforts in mentoring women to enter the world of politics.

Burlington County Republican Diane Allen was one of 25 women named to the Governing Institute's Women in Government Leadership Class of 2017.

Allen says a couple organizations she's worked with put her name in the running, and while she's thrilled to get the award, she knows it comes with an added responsibility.

"What it does is give us the mandate, the 25 of us who were recognized, to move forward and work with other women," she told KYW Newsradio.

This is the third year the Washington-based institute has come up with a bipartisan list of female legislators from coast to coast in an attempt to boost the number of women in elected government positions nationwide.

It's an effort Allen says she has always supported.

"One of the most important things that I feel I have accomplished in my years in the legislature is working with other women, trying to increase the number of women in government at all levels of government," she added.

Several studies suggest the numbers of women in elected positions has not changed very much in about 25 years. Allen sees her award as just another way to prove women belong in positions of power.

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