Written by Katlyn Marotz, Staff Writer & Sports Editor
In 1920, the 19th Amendment was first passed to the U.S. constitution allowing white women the right to vote. In 1924, Native American women were allowed, and later in 1943, Chinese women earned the right. Then in 1965, Black and Latinx women gained the right when the Voting Rights Act was signed, protecting all citizens’ rights to vote under the 14th and 15th amendments.
In 1872, Victoria Woodhull became the first woman presidential candidate; in 1917, Jeannette Rankin, broke ground as the first female elected to Congress; and in 1932, Hattie Caraway, became the first female elected as U.S Senator.
Other women would make their mark: Nellie Tayloe Ross, the first female state governor in 1924; Frances Perkins, the first female cabinet member in 1933; Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female Supreme Court Justice in 1981; and Geraldine Ferraro, the first female to run as as a vice presidential candidate on a major-party ticket in 1984.
All of these women were firsts and paved the way for women and little girls today, but they also contributed to the bigger picture that strives for a more equal society.
And now, in 2021, Kamala Harris makes history by being the first Black woman and first Asian American to become Vice President, adding to her many other firsts like first Black woman to be elected district attorney in California history and first woman to be California’s attorney general.
With each new bridge women cross it becomes more abundantly clear we have even more progress to see to achieve true gender equality. But it is because of strong women like Harris who cross the first bridge that women are able to be represented and heard.
According to a Jan. 15, 2021 article published by UN Women, a United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, at the current rate of progress, gender equality in the highest positions of power will not be reached for another 130 years.
And now, the what-if of a female in office for Vice President of the United States no longer exists because each young girl is able to see it as a possibility, but they’ll also know it wasn’t an easy climb to the high position.
Rather than being judged or picked because of appearances, women will be picked based on their ideas and what they offer to make bigger and brighter opportunities for the disadvantaged. The participation of women in politics is absolutely necessary in order to keep a functioning democracy and peace by bringing in different perspectives.
Women fought for their right to vote, equal employment opportunities, property rights, and many others. We started at the beginning, and now glass ceilings are being shattered across the political world. And for that, Kamala Harris will always be a remembered name.