Columnist Ann Lewis and former Lt. Gov. Evelyn Murphy kicked off a series of weekly lectures on women's political issues last night.

Twenty women joined Lewis and Murphy in the first of eight weekly Radcliffe College seminars which will deal with such topics as career paths, political processes and organization, public opinion polls and women in leadership positions.

"We are very concerned about the erosion of women's rights," said Murphy, who ran for the Democratic nomination for governor in 1990.

But despite the concern, Murphy said she was hopeful for the future of women in politics. If women continue to remove systematically the glass ceiling in politics, they will be a force in the shaping of future public policy, she said.

"More Americans today seriously consider choosing women as leaders than in all previous years combined," said Murphy. "People want leaders with the kind of characteristics that women have."

The seminars, held every Tuesday in the Lyman Common Room, will feature a different speaker each week. Yesterday's guest was Boston City Councillor Rosaria Salerno, who is currently running for re-election.

"The world of politics has enormous men's footprints all over it," said Salerno. "It's their game, and they love it. We, women, have to change this."

Salerno, who said she would run for mayor of Boston in 1995, emphasized the need for women to keep trying to "break down gender barriers" in politics.

Salerno also said that confirmation of Judge Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court was a "setback."

"I think we've gone a little bit backward tonight. Things must have happened behind closed doors to get those votes to turn out the way they did," Salerno said yesterday.

Lewis, Murphy and Salerno all said that the Thomas confirmation would erode support among women for many male politicians.

Lewis said that she believed that women will rally behind other women in future elections. "Women in politics are magnets once they are at the top. Other women see this and they want in," Lewis said.