RALEIGH, N.C. — Bev Perdue was the 73rd governor of North Carolina, breaking the proverbial glass ceiling as the first female to hold that position. She says she felt the weight of that honor as she took her oath on January 6, 2001 as the first female lietenant governor before later becoming the state's first female governor in 2009.

“I thought about it the very morning that I was sworn in,” Perdue says. “It was a big deal to me, and it was a really big deal to little girls across this state and across this country.”

This place in history is not something Perdue had aspired to. It was actually her career as director of geriatric services at a community hospital  —  and her difficulty getting state attention for hospital needs  —  that eventually led her to the governor’s mansion.

Perdue started in the statehouse and went on to the Senate, where she served as the powerful appropriations chair. Eventually, she decided she was ready for statewide office.

“Yeah, I’m a risk-taker,” Perdue says of some of her decisions in office. “I think otherwise nothing would get done.” 

As lieutenant governor, Perdue defined her role by working on base realignment, one of her top accomplishments.

“My political consultants did not want me to do it because I took a huge risk,” Perdue says. “Because I could either be successful and bring lots of jobs to my area, to the state of North Carolina, or we could end up losing a lot of jobs. So, we took a risk. And North Carolina ended up winning big in that round of base closures.”

Eventually, it was time for the big hurdle: the governor’s seat.

To say she was taking on this role at a difficult time is an understatement. The country was in the Great Recession, and she, along with the legislature, had to make sure our state’s budget remained balanced.

“My challenge was very hard, very deep-seated in every North Carolina family,” Perdue says. “Every family had economic problems. But that is no different from your challenges at the start of the day. You just suck it up. Go do the job. Get it done for whomever you work for.”

And Perdue doesn’t run from challenges. During her tenure, a board was created to figure out compensation for eugenics victims in the state. She says it was important for her to make sure there was some compensation for people who were forced to be sterilized.

“And it was the right thing to do,” Perdue says. “There were four or five times … when I was governor where the decisions were hard for me as a person, where I didn’t care what anyone suggested on my team. I didn’t care what anybody thought in the state if I thought it was absolutely right, and sometimes you do that. It’s not often that decisions are that important but sometimes they are. And that time it was.”

Now in her post-political life, Perdue reflects on her time as a top female leader. She believes that while her voice was never silenced, she definitely overcame obstacles in areas that are improving for women today.  

“I remember one time that one of the leading senators called me ‘dumplin’… in public,” Perdue recalls. “I was truly offended. I was so angry. But the environment and the culture of that time prohibited me from that absolute brutal confrontation. And in this climate, if a man came in and called you any kind of name, you would immediately tell him to shut up, tell him it was inappropriate, tell him the rules of the game, or finally go inform your superior. So that whole world has changed, and it is such an opportunity to do whatever it is you want to do, not just in America or North Carolina, but in the world if you are a woman.”