Kamala Harris is the woman and a woman of color to serve as Vice President of the United States. She is now distinguished as the highest-level elected woman in the history of the United States. Her position as Vice President marks a major milestone for women in American politics and our Nation's history as a whole.
The images of people that we see in positions of leadership and power are overwhelmingly male—sometimes, we don't notice it until we see something different. Research shows that without female role models, girls stop believing they can be anything they want to be as early as 5 years old. Women like Vice President Harris help combat that. Harris will bring a different perspective to the White House and now has the positional power to impact policy in ways we have never seen before—women have more than earned this seat at the table.
VP Harris’ nomination isn’t the first time she has broken the glass ceiling. In 2010 she became the first African American and first woman to serve as Attorney General in California. In 2016 she became the first Indian American woman to be elected to the United States Senate. In August of 2020 she became the first Black woman and first Asian American woman to appear on the presidential ticket of a major political party.
Regardless of political affiliations, VP Harris’ accomplishment is a win for all women.
On the night she became Vice President-Elect, it was a full circle moment for the story of America—women have worked so hard and trailblazed many of the major civil movements in the last 100 years. From Women’s Suffrage to Civil Rights, to Voting rights—women have driven forward all of these movements.
We hear and talk a lot about women trailblazers, like Vice President Harris who are the historic first, but they are also paving the way for the future of other women and girls. As VP Harris’ mother boldly told her years ago, “Kamala you may be the first to do many things, but make sure you are not the last.”
Thank you for being the first and inspiring other women to pave the way.
