96 years later: Women’s Role in the 2016 Election

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have both gone the full 12 rounds, leaving the scoring decision in the hands of the American people. Tomorrow we are going to find out how the voting electorate has responded to perhaps the most negative campaign in US history. In fact, the 2016 race has made history in a whole lot of ways. For the first time since our country’s founding, a woman leads the ticket of a major party. And that woman will be counting on the support of other women tomorrow if she’s to win.

Gender has had a very important hand in influencing the direction of this election so far. Seemingly in a throwback to elementary school, the 2016 election has at times devolved into boys vs. girls. For instance, take this recent poll from McClatchy/Marist in which women support Clinton 48-36, and men support Trump 49-37. What does this mean? It appears that women and men have different ideas about what they want to see in the future of our country. If we were to roll back the clock by about 96 years and a few months, these poll numbers would suggest an incoming landslide in favor of Trump. This is of course because women have only had the right to vote for less than a century, and what a century it’s been for women. They’ve catapulted from receiving equal citizenship in 1920 to playing a huge role in the election of 2016.

Since the 1980’s, women have been more likely to vote than men. Given that the gender gap seems to be about even for both candidates, Clinton will have the advantage come election day if women continue to outvote men. Clinton’s GOTV (Get Out The Vote) team should definitely focus on motivating women to the polls tomorrow, as women will play a substantial role in getting the Democratic nominee to 270 electoral votes.

Just 96 years ago, the idea of women voting was being fiercely debated in Congress. And now, in less than 24 hours, women will play an absolutely critical role in deciding the fate of America’s future. If the polling has been accurate, they will likely be helping the first women in United States history win the presidency. Truly, women have come a long, long way in this country.

Ivanka Trump–The Secret Weapon

As Donald Trump mounts an improbable comeback heading into the final week of the campaign, he will surely need every ounce of support from his surrogates. His best and most influential surrogate happens to be his daughter, Ivanka Trump. Ivanka possesses numerous assets–she’s a gifted orator, a successful businesswomen, and most of all she is able to serve as a role model to young women throughout the country. She uses these skills in an attempt to bridge the gap between her father and hesitant women voters by counteracting the prevailing idea that Donald’s view of gender roles is archaic.

There’s no doubt that a lot of female voters see Donald Trump as a man of the 20th century, rooted in a deep web of misogyny. And Trump’s best counter argument to this perception of him is not found in anything he says or does, but instead it has manifested itself in his daughter, Ivanka. Ivanka is, by most all accounts, a kind, intelligent, and successful person. This presents a useful contradiction to the notion that Donald Trump is a misogynist because after all, if he were a sexist how could he raise his daughter to be such an independent, driven person? Now of course you the reader could claim that Donald’s Ex-Wife Ivana did the vast majority of the child rearing, and you’d probably be right, but what matters the most is what the electorate thinks. And you can be rest assured that the Trump campaign is going to use Ivanka to overcome the narrative that Donald has an outdated view on gender roles.

So what comprises Ivanka Trump’s résumé? She is currently the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, she is a successful author, and a former model to boot. Objectively speaking that’s quite impressive. For those raising their daughters in today’s world they want there to be nothing in society holding women back, and Ivanka, although the privileged daughter of a billionaire, could certainly serve as a role model to girls everywhere.

With just 8 days to go before election day, expect to see Ivanka Trump back on the campaign trail as she continues her mission to humanize her father to women across the country. It remains to be seen whether or not her father can pull off one of the greatest political upsets of all time, but if he does it will be in large part because of his secret weapon: Ivanka Trump.

Hillary Clinton: an Attempt to Shatter Highest Glass Ceiling

There are those who believe Hillary Clinton is unfit for the office of the presidency because they believe she put the United States’ national security at risk by using an insecure email server. There are those who believe Hillary Clinton is unfit for the office of the presidency because they believe she has been bought and paid for by corporate donors and that she does not empathize with the plight of the average citizen. And then there are those who believe Hillary Clinton is unfit for the office of the presidency because she’s a woman.

That’s right, the president of the United States can’t represent our national interests if they have two x chromosomes, get out of here with that nonsense!

As we continue our plunge into the 21st century, there still remains that highest glass ceiling for a woman in America: Holding the office of the presidency of the United States. This glass ceiling, seemingly unbreakable, is held together by the sheer force of modern history and traditional views of gender roles. This is the glass ceiling that Hillary Clinton will attempt to shatter on November 8th.

For full disclosure to the reader, I do not support Hillary Clinton for president and I will not be voting for her. But even as a non-supporter I can appreciate what she is doing in this historic run for the White House. Women were not considered full citizens in the eyes of the U.S. Government as late as 1919. Women have been discouraged from seeking leadership roles for a large chunk of our collective history. Just yesterday, Rudy Giuliani, claimed his candidate for President would be better for America “than a woman”.

Hillary Clinton must confront all of these realities and so much more in her effort to become the first female president in the history of the United States. And while we can debate all day long whether or not her policies would be the best for our nation, the truth is that if Hillary Clinton wins it will be a symbolic victory for women across the country and the world. Finally, someone will have shattered the highest glass ceiling.