Margaret Mahoney repeatedly broke through gender barriers to establish herself as an exceptional legislator and community leader. During her lifetime, she served in both chambers of the Ohio General Assembly. She was the first woman Democrat elected to the Ohio Senate, the first female chair of the Senate Rules Committee, and the first female majority leader, president pro tem, of the Senate. During her legislative career, she focused on education, health, welfare, and industrial and community programs. She was a presidential elector in 1948 and delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1956, 1960 and 1964. She was the only woman on the State Council of Defense during World War II and was selected by Governor Frank Lausche to be the State Securities Chief in 1951, the first woman to hold this position. In 1983, she was named the first female director of the State Department of Industrial Relations.