By Brooke Robbins
“I may be the first woman in this office. I will not be the last.” By now you’ve probably heard these words. Maybe you heard them live, streaming on your living room TV. Or maybe you replayed them on Youtube in the days or weeks that followed. You may have seen them, in headlines across news channels, or written out in eye-catching, technicolor Instagram graphics. Whatever the case may be, I think we can all agree: they’re words we will not soon forget.
As news of Joe Biden’s presidential-elect win rippled across the country, the victory of his VP, Kamala Harris — the first woman (among other things) to secure a seat on a winning U.S. presidential ticket — was making headlines, too.
And for good reason. Kamala’s presence in the White House will serve as more than just a blueprint for women in politics. Her presence paves the way for women to take on (and be entrusted with) positions of leadership across industries and institutions. No matter your career path or aspirations, Kamala’s win means something for every American woman and girl.
Now, it’s true that progress (particularly as it pertains to gender equality) doesn’t always come neatly or in one fell swoop. A society typically doesn’t one day “wake up” and, all at once, start electing women into office, putting us into C-Suites of Fortune 500 companies, stop telling us to smile and start calling us bold instead of bossy in headlines. (This is one of many lessons I came to learn while living overseas).
More often, progress comes in incremental shifts. Equality in politics paving the way for better representation in business. Changing social norms (like a widespread acceptance of women pursuing higher education and ultimately, our own careers) paving the way — though perhaps not until decades later — for more women in political leadership.
Gender bias is as much a cultural issue as it is an institutional one — we can’t solve the problem without hacking both. But with every milestone reached, every “first woman to” crossed off our national laundry list, we turn another stone on the path to parity.
This is particularly true when the world is led by women like Kamala. Women that work their butts off to reach the top of the mountain, and rather than bask in the sunshiney glory, turn around to see who else they can hoist up to the peak with them.
I can’t wait to see more women and girls of all backgrounds getting elected, getting promoted and (of course) getting funded. And when we do, we’ll have the Kamala’s of the world to thank.
