While women won a record number of seats in this year’s election, there’s much work that needs to be accomplished to level the playing field of American politics. As has been widely reported, Republican women weren’t part of the wave; their numbers actually decreased in Congress.
Astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman in space and a Texas Women’s Hall of Fame honoree, once quipped, “You can’t be what you don’t see.”
Finally, women (and girls) are seeing other women lead in politics. They’re actually seeing people who look like them running for office and winning. And seeing is believing that you, too, can achieve success.
For most of our nation’s history, the political narrative was one-sided: white and male.
With more women now taking office, the narrative is changed forever. While gender parity in politics is still decades away, history illustrates it took more than 70 years for women to finally win the right to vote. The language for women’s suffrage that was first offered in 1848 at Seneca Falls, New York, is the exact language enacted into law in 1920 — 72 years later.
This year it was Democratic women who were spurred to action because of the “Trump Effect.” They were angry and scared about the president’s rhetoric but turned that passion into a plan: running for office.
While a record number of Democratic (and a smattering of Republican) women won, many more lost. To achieve lasting change, they must continue their civic engagement and advocacy after Election Day. They only lost this first battle.
Men have been running, winning and losing for centuries. Men who lose hold their heads high, learn from their mistakes and add the experience to their resumes (and list it in their obituaries!). Women must recognize that losing their first battle doesn’t mean they’ve lost the war.
Public service is a journey, not a sprint. The 2018 election, for many women, was just the first race. Women no longer treat politics as a spectator sport. They’re playing with grit, grace and guts.
Shirley Chisholm of New York, the first black woman elected to Congress in 1968, used to say, “If they won’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” Next year, women will have more than just a folding chair at the table of leadership. They’ll finally have a real seat. There’s no turning back as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in 2020.
Disclosure: Texas Woman’s University has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
