There’s a Woman in the White House: How We Reached this Milestone & What’s Next.
Tearsheet by Cheyney Chiddick.
THERE’S A WOMAN IN THE WHITE HOUSE: HOW WE REACHED THIS MILESTONE & WHAT’S NEXT.
Cheers overwhelmed the city outside our windows. Popped champagne sprayed the entire crowd. Music blared and people danced until dark, and then until it was light again. New York and so many other cities around the country rejoiced on November 8th, 2020.
Some cheered for Joe Biden’s win, others simply for the end of Donald Trump’s reign. But me? I cheered for women. I cheered for Kamala Harris, as the first ever elected female vice-president. I cheered for my mom and sister and friends, and even for myself. And I cheered for the 3-foot-tall girl who proudly walked past me holding a sign that read, “A Future I Want To Be A Part Of.”
After four years of uncertainty, 2020 was a great election year for Democrats, women, trans folks, and people of color. The stigma against women and minorities in politics is nowhere near gone, but progress in the right direction is most definitely being made.
From the first female activists to today’s increasingly involved Gen-Z, the push towards equality is finally entering the mainstream. So as Kamala, the first woman and first person of color to hold the title of Vice President of the United States embarks on her journey, we must remember how and why we are able to celebrate today.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane to just some of the women who have helped us get to where we are.
1848
Starting with, of course, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, the pioneers of the female frontier.
1851
In 1851 the Women's Suffrage Movement officially began when Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, two of the movement's most influential members, met and continued their quest for equality. The Women’s Suffrage Movement, however, was not without fault. In most states white women led the movement, and many even believed including women of color would muddy the message. Thankfully, Ohio was one state that did not segregate their women’s movement.
Sojourner Truth, a formerly enslaved woman, spoke at the 1851 Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, aiming to encourage Ohio constitutional lawmakers to expand and improve women’s legal rights for women of every color.
Sojourner Truth
1868
Julia Addington became the first woman elected to public office (and is considered to be the first woman ever elected to any office in the U.S.), as the Superintendent of Schools in Mitchell County, Iowa. Many questioned the legitimacy of her election simply due to the fact that she was a woman. The state Attorney General set an important precedent, however, when he ruled that she was eligible to serve. This ruling changed the game for other women interested in entering the political sphere.
1916
Jeannette Rankin, a Republican from Montana, was the first woman elected to U.S. Congress. She is famous for her quote, “I may be the first woman member of Congress, but I won’t be the last .…” Sound familiar? In her Victory speech this month, Vice-President Elect Kamala Harris addressed the nation with her own version, “While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last”.
Kamala Harris
1920
The 19th Amendment was passed in August 1920 after decades of protests and organizing. White women finally won the legal right to vote in U.S. elections.
The passing of the 19th Amendment not only paved the way for women to take part in voting on political issues, but to spearhead social action and run for office too.
1925
Cora Belle Reynolds Anderson, from the Ojibwe tribe, became the first Native American woman elected to a State Legislature.
1933
Frances Perkins became the first woman presidential cabinet member. FDR appointed her as Secretary of Labor.
1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed.
Diane Nash was one of the most prominent figures in the passing of this act. Nash co-founded the student’s branch of the civil rights movement, worked to register record numbers of black men and women to vote, led the Freedom Riders initiative, and worked on countless other campaigns pushing for Civil Rights.
1971
Bella Abzug took office in the Congress, where she fought for anti-war and equality beliefs in each bill she introduced. Her inspiring words, particularly “This woman’s place is in the House–the House of Representatives”, assisted so many others in turning the narrative around, and encouraged women to step out from societal expectations.
1972
Shirley Chisholm, a founder of the Congressional Black Caucus, became the first woman to run for president on a major party ticket. She made history with her quote, “I ran because somebody had to do it first”.
1970s
Ruth Bader Ginsburg served as the director of the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project. That decade, she argued six landmark Supreme Court cases on gender equality.
1984
Geraldine Ferraro was the first woman to be nominated for vice president on a major party ticket.
1993
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was appointed as a Supreme Court Justice by President Bill Clinton.
2001
Condoleezza Rice was the first Black woman U.S. National Security Adviser under George W. Bush. She went on to serve as the first Black woman Secretary of State from 2005-2009.
That same year, Elaine Chao became the first Asian-American woman to serve in a presidential cabinet when George W. Bush appointed her Secretary of Labor.
2007
Nancy Pelosi was elected the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House.
2016
Hillary Clinton became the first female presidential nominee of a major party.
2017
Nikki Haley was the first Indian-American to serve a cabinet-level position, as U.S. ambassador for the UN.
2018
Democrats Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib became the first Muslim women elected to Congress.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, at the age of 29.
2020
Kamala Harris made history as she became the first woman and first person of color to be elected the U.S. Vice President in the 2020 election. She gave her victory speech wearing a suit of Suffragette White to symbolize just how far women have come.
2020 was full of both female and minority empowerment victories in the general election. From AOC’s reelection to Sarah McBride’s win as a Delaware State Senator, making her the first openly transgender state senator the country has ever elected, progress towards equality took over in 2020.
Despite the wins we saw this year, however, there is still a long way to go. When looking at the progress we have made over the last two centuries, it is important to note what has been overlooked. For example, even though women have been elected more often in recent years, female representation in governmental positions nowhere near matches the proportion of women in our country. Women make up almost 51% of the U.S. population,yet only hold 23.7% of Congress seats and 26% of Senate seats. These (extremely low) numbers rank the United States as 83rd in terms of female representation in governments worldwide, according to catalyst.org . Though “formal representation”, or the legal right to participate, was given to women decades ago, this is obviously not enough.
So, what now, you might ask?
We must keep pushing. We must keep voting-in women, women like AOC and Kamala, who never back down when fighting in the interest of women’s issues. We must keep working like Stacey Abrams to fight voter suppression, or 17-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg to light the fire of caring and compassion in others.
It has been made clear time and time again that being half of the population is not enough, being elected to office is not enough, being a passive activist is not enough. Female representation both in office and in daily life must be substantive.
The fight for equality is one for all genders, races, abilities, and so on. Keep sharing: share on social media, share your ideas, share books you’ve read and documentaries you’ve watched. Keep educating yourself and others: know the history of our nation and why we are where we are. Keep advocating for women, both in office and out, to be seen and taken as equals, leaders, in our often male-dominated world. And with these actions, we can keep all women where they should be–in the White House.
Article by Alexandra York, Contributor
