Joining the men's club.

• Author: Potenza, Alessandra
• Position: NATIONAL - Treasury Department plans to puta woman on new 10-dollar bill

For only the second time in history, a woman's portrait will appear on U.S. paper currency. So what's all the controversy about?

It's easy to see why the Treasury Department's plan to feature a woman on the new $10 bill has sparked so much excitement. After all, only one woman's portrait has ever appeared on U.S. paper currency, and that was way back in the late 1800s when Martha Washington graced a $1 silver certificate.*

Amid the cheers, however, there's also been a heap of unexpected controversy. Why the $10 bill and not a more widely used denomination? Why replace Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, who's been pictured on the $10 bill for 87 years? And why not get rid of President Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill instead, since his legacy has come under criticism lately?

"Our goal was to trigger a real conversation in this country about who are the women who helped build our country, who built our democracy, what does democracy mean to Americans," Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said recently. That seems to be what he's gotten--and much more. The U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which has designed and printed the nation's currency since 1862, has put billions of bills into circulation. Other than the Martha Washington certificate, every one has featured a portrait of a man.

Women have fared slightly better on U.S. coinage. Susan B. Anthony, the 19th-century social reformer who fought to get women the vote, was featured on a dollar coin starting in 1979. Sacagawea, the Native American guide to the Lewis and Clark expedition in the 1800s, appeared on a dollar coin beginning in 2000. And activist and author Helen Keller, who was deaf and blind, represented Alabama in the U.S. Mint's 50 State Quarters Program in 2003. But none of these coins are still minted for circulation.

A Champion for Democracy

With other countries featuring women on their currency (see box, right), women's rights groups have long called for a woman on U.S. bills. And last June, Lew announced that one would be featured on a new $10 note. He asked the public for help in selecting a woman "who was a champion for our inclusive democracy."

Several million people, many using the hashtag #TheNew10, have responded to Lew's invitation. But alongside the nominees, Lew has received an outpouring of complaints, which forced him to miss his self-imposed December deadline to announce which female figure had been selected.

"I think it took us all by surprise just how much interest...