Martha Griffiths

Martha Griffiths
59th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan
In office January 1, 1983 – January 1, 1991
Governor	James Blanchard
Preceded by	James Brickley
Succeeded by	Connie Binsfeld
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 17th district
In office January 3, 1955 – December 31, 1974
Preceded by	Charles Oakman
Succeeded by	William Brodhead
Personal details
Born	Martha Edna Wright (1912-01-29)January 29, 1912 Pierce City, Missouri, U.S.
Died	April 22, 2003(2003-04-22) (aged 91) Armada, Michigan, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Hicks Griffiths ​ ​ (m. 1933; died 1996)​
Education	University of Missouri, Columbia (BA) University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (LLB)

Martha Wright Griffiths (January 29, 1912 – April 22, 2003) was an American lawyer and judge before being elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1954. Griffiths was the first woman to serve on the House Committee on Ways and Means and the first woman elected to the United States Congress from Michigan as a member of the Democratic Party. She was "instrumental" in including the prohibition of sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.^[1] In 1982, Griffiths was also the first woman elected lieutenant governor of Michigan, as Matilda Dodge Wilson had been appointed the first female lieutenant governor of Michigan in 1939.