For the first time in American history, a woman of color was on stage debating as the Democratic presidential nominee. No matter the outcome, this was a historical event. There is only one first. On this night in September of 2024, Vice President Kamala Harris was the first.
Harris was certainly unflappable in the debate. She maintained her poise and composure. There was no question as to whether she could hold her own in a verbal sparring match.
If anything, being a woman of color may have further strengthened her resolve. A lifetime of overcoming racial and gender biases could have better prepared her for standing firm in that moment.
We must ask ourselves why this has taken so long to legitimately consider women for the presidency. Other countries have made the leap decades ago to elect or appoint women as heads of state. Margaret Thatcher began her 11-year tenure as the prime minister of the United Kingdom in 1979. Angela Merkel served Germany as its chancellor from 2005-21. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was the first woman president of Liberia, taking office in 2006 and serving for 12 years.
Individually, we can decide whether we agree with each leader’s policies or style of governing. But collectively, we must ask ourselves why the U.S. has not yet had a woman as president.
Fifty years ago, Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman to run for president. The “unbought and unbossed” politician was also the first Black woman to be elected to the United States Congress. Chisholm did not win her party’s nomination, but she is widely credited with paving the way for future women in politics.
Some skeptical voters argued that a woman as a leader was just too risky for the country when Hillary Clinton ran in 2016.
During one of Clinton and Donald Trump’s 2016 debates, Trump said he had, “much better judgment than she has … I also have a much better temperament than she has.”
Those arguments speak directly to the biases people have about women in any leadership position. A woman could do a good job if only she could get her “temperament” under control.
Having served as a Secretary of State, First Lady of the United States, First Lady of Arkansas, attorney and so on, Clinton’s track record was more than comparable to that of other politicians. There have certainly been presidential candidates with fewer credentials. However, many of the doubts she encountered were not based on her merit, but simply on her womanhood and whether people thought a woman could ever fill the seat of president.
Some detractors noted a woman’s perceived emotional instability as the reason for not wanting to vote for her. Despite Clinton’s experience, for them, her feminine nature meant she could not be entrusted with big decisions even as Clinton had rarely been seen in the light of the archetypical woman. Her image is much more synonymous with the power suit than it is with being at home baking cookies or knitting socks.
In 2023, the Pew Research Center reported that the country was fairly evenly split on its views of having a woman as president. It is up to us to ask ourselves why it has taken our country centuries to have women on the ticket and when we will finally see a woman in the oval office.
With females making up more than half of the U.S. population, we should be able to agree by now that a woman should not be disqualified just because she is a woman.
As Harris’s mother reminded her, she may be the first, but she should work to make sure she is not the last.
Contact Editor-in-Chief Camike Jones at camikej@indyrecorder.com or 317-762-7850.
