In 1917, Colorado state Rep. Agnes Riddle famously challenged her colleagues over a red light district: “Why shut the gates of hell on the women of the red light district, and leave the men who put them there free to roam around in respectable society? But I myself will vote for your bill if you’ll amend it to include also a segregated district for fallen men. Only how many of you would be left here in your seats in the State House?”

Nearly 100 years later, there has been a lot of conversation about voting for a woman because she’s a woman. Not coincidentally, this has been the focus of my personal and professional life recently. For the past three years, producer Laura Hoeppner and I have been making a documentary about elected women in Colorado called “Strong Sisters: Elected Women in Colorado.”

The genesis of the film is Colorado’s unique history — we elected the first women in any parliamentary body in the world in 1894 after having gotten the vote by popular referendum in 1893. That’s 27 years before the United States finally ratified the 19th Amendment, enfranchising women nationally, in 1920. Now Colorado leads the country with the highest percentage of women in any state legislature, at 42 percent.

We interviewed over 70 former and current elected women from Colorado, Republicans and Democrats alike, for “Strong Sisters,” from Norma Anderson, the first woman majority leader in the Senate, to trailblazer Polly Baca. We also talked to journalists, historians and experts on Colorado history. The fascinating stories that emerged from women across the political spectrum and spanning five decades of service reaffirmed it made all the difference in the world to have women under the Dome.

Our film chronicled how merely by being a voice in the room — in the chambers, in the committee hearings — changed the conversation. As more women were elected, and more women attained leadership roles, the agenda changed. In addition, women get more done. A recent study found women senators introduce more bills, attract more co-sponsors, encourage bipartisanship, and their bills were more likely to make it out of committee and be enacted.

So, yes, I have an opinion on the importance of electing women. I think we get more done because we focus on results and we share credit. Women have historically and currently helped the Colorado General Assembly reflect our state in a more balanced way. And they focus on the real-life, kitchen-table concerns of working Coloradans.

“Strong Sisters” tells their story and ours. I encourage you to watch, and let us know what you think!