Paula Krane was born in 1943 and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to parents who practiced traditional gender roles. She even recalls her father being angry when her mother voted. Krane and other women of the Baby Boom generation would work to change this gender ideology, not only through overtly feminist activism but also through their individual life choices and their work in the community.

When Krane was in high school, racial segregation was prevalent and the Civil Rights Movement was raging in throughout the nation. Krane participated in a sit-in to support school integration, an early indication of her commitment to social justice. She pursued a career in education, married and raised children, and became involved in the League of Women Voters. In the 1990s, Krane was elected president of the Oregon League of Women Voters