In the course of eight years following Hillary Clinton’s unsuccessful bid for the US presidency, the job market experienced a shift, seeing a rise in the number of college-educated women surpassing their male counterparts for the initial time. The #MeToo crusade exposed sexual misconduct, bringing numerous influential men to their downfall. The Supreme Court also revoked the nationwide right to terminate pregnancies.
Are these developments going to influence Vice President Kamala Harris in any way?
After President Joe Biden’s announcement not to contest in the upcoming election, Harris is guaranteed to be the Democratic Party’s nominee for the presidency. As a result, she could face the same questions of electability that Hillary Clinton dealt with in a society that stands out globally for having never elected a woman for its highest office.
A potential presidential race against former president Donald Trump might seem like déjà vu to some extent: Trump will be pitted again against a woman who has had a significant role in the administration and served in the Senate. Despite losing to Trump in 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by a significant to margin.
Nonetheless, the scenario wouldn’t be exactly the same. Unlike Clinton, Harris doesn’t have a longstanding political reputation or any associated negative history. Besides, Trump’s turbulent tenure in office is now a known factor. Furthermore, Harris is of Afro-Caribbean and South Asian heritage.
Moreover, America today is drastically different than it was eight years ago.
“Women are more incensed which could possibly spur them to take action,” points out Karen Crowley, a 64-year-old retired nurse and independent voter from Concord, New Hampshire, who has no intention of voting for Trump, couldn’t bring herself to back Biden and now plans to throw her support behind Harris.
She attributes her standpoints to the cancellation of Roe v Wade and certain remarks and behaviour by Trump which numerous women perceive as sexist and misogynistic. “The likelihood of a female president seems higher now,” she argues.
However, for the female voters and lobbyists who are eager to shatter the proverbial glass ceiling, there is an undercurrent of fear that Harris might find it an uphill task to overcome sexism.
“The establishment is male-dominated,” Crowley opines. “Harris is highly intelligent and she’s been a prosecutor, but there are plenty of elderly white males who’d want to obstruct her. Her only drawback is that she’s a woman.”
Speaking about a politician’s gender can often feel irrelevant and backwards, especially when considering that other countries do not seem to place as much importance on it. For example, the UK has seen three female prime ministers take the helm, and Mexico has just inaugurated its first female president.
However, when a female politician stands for an electoral position in the US, her gender is frequently brought up, often unsolicited, in interviews by voters. They cite it as an area of concern not just for themselves, but for the general voting population.
Take, for instance, the experience of Julia Blake, an 80-year-old from La Jolla, California. She has spent a considerable amount of time in heated debates with her book club friends about the feasibility of a female president in the US. Despite being educated and professional women themselves, most of her friends believe it won’t happen, to Blake’s dismay.
“Whenever women keep repeating the idea that a woman will never be able to win the presidency, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. We will never have a female president if we continue with this line of thinking,” Blake fiercely states. She backed Amy Klobuchar, a senator from Minnesota during the 2020 Democratic Primary, and also made a financial contribution to Harris’s campaign. She feels that women are not recognising their own potential.
Despite this, many voters still place party loyalty above gender when casting their vote. “I wouldn’t cast a vote in her favour,” admits Naomi Villalba, a 74-year-old Republican from Dallas. She supports Trump but believes Harris would be a better Democratic candidate than Biden.
In the 2020 election, Biden received 55% of female votes, slightly more than the 54% that Clinton got in 2016, as reported by Pew Research Centre. Trump’s female voter base also increased from 39% in 2016 to 44% in 2020.
Harris’ potential as the Democratic frontrunner has stirred excitement among some voters eager to see a female president. However, it also brings back previous worries, highlighting that Trump was defeated by a male candidate (Biden), but managed to beat a female contender (Clinton).
Although Clinton’s run for presidency did not culminate in a win, it fundamentally transformed the perceived limitations for women in US politics, according to the political scientist Christina Wolbrecht from the University of Notre Dame who specializes in female voting tendencies. The 2020 election saw the likes of Klobuchar, senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Elizabeth Warren, and the ex-governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley receive serious attention as contenders. Haley, a Republican, even posed a challenge to Trump in this year’s elections.
Wolbrecht opines that the idea of a female president has become increasingly acceptable to many, post the Hillary Clinton era. A report by the Pew Research Center from last year reveals that 42% of women believe electing a female president within their lifetime is somewhat vital. The same report indicates that 39% of the polled individuals, both men and women, reckon that a woman president would be more adept at achieving compromises, while 37% think she’d maintain a more respectful political tonality. However, over half of them believe that gender isn’t a crucial factor in these abilities.
Harris, particularly, has established a specific connection with black women who form an essential segment of the Democratic base and have demonstrated keen support for her in the past. Laurie Nsiah-Jefferson, the director of the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston, reflects on the significant changes for women since 2016. She believes Trump’s approach to issues like abortion converted from a distant risk to a definite reality after he assumed office.
Trump had already exhibited the importance he places on his gender by proudly walking out to James Brown’s song, “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World”. However, Nsiah-Jefferson believes that Harris will also embrace her womanhood and discuss its impact on politics and policy.
But there are some voters who want to get past gendered discussions. Marilyn McDole, a resident of Oregon, Wisconsin, attended a re-election rally for Democratic senator Tammy Baldwin in Stoughton, Wisconsin. She feels it’s essential to focus on an individual’s skills and abilities rather than their gender identity. For her, these gendered debates are damaging and biased towards women, and it is not right. Talking about Harris, McDole notes that she is exceptionally experienced.
However, some Democratic voters express their belief that a female nominee could play a significant role in advocating for one of the party’s foremost issues – access to abortion.
Katy Sorenson, 69, an ex-commissioner from Miami-Dade County, Florida, refers to the reversal of Roe v Wade, the legal case that ensured abortion rights across America, as a major catalyst. She suggests that it’s a broader concern, with many women worried about issues surrounding problematic pregnancies and accessibility to necessary healthcare.
In contrast, Mary Lucas, a 36-year-old from Raleigh, North Carolina, was spurred into political action by Harris’s campaign. Lucas recalls her instant desire to participate in the pressing question, “How can I contribute?”
The potential for societal changes to positively shape Harris’s campaign is also identified. Dr Liz Bradt, a 64-year-old Salem Democratic City Committee chair and retired veterinarian from Salem, Massachusetts, reflects on the younger generation’s refusal to be confined by rigid gender norms. She says this open-minded approach could be a positive factor for Harris’s campaign. However, Bradt, a former Clinton supporter, predicts a challenging path ahead for Harris, mirroring the struggle she previously feared for Hillary.
Despite securing the highest number of votes in 2016, Hillary Clinton was deemed unapproachable by some voters. Included among these critics was Dr Maria E Laurencio, a 73-year-old retired anaesthesiologist from Coral Gables, Florida, who, being a lifetime Republican, reluctantly voted for Clinton. Laurencio explained that Clinton’s response to her husband’s infidelity and perceived haughty demeanour made her unappealing to voters, despite her evident preparedness.
However, Laurencio transitioned her political allegiance in 2020 to support Biden, and she now voices her intention to back Harris. Laurencio makes it clear that she would support any initiative that prevents Trump’s return to the White House.
There has also been an observable rise in women participating in political campaigns.
Luisa Wakeman, a 57-year-old air hostess from suburban Cobb County, Georgia, expressed her feelings that she and other women who first emerged in politics opposing Trump in 2016 have developed their predominantly female-run circles in the community into robust, battle-hardened election machinery. “I find myself stirred up in a sense,” she confesses. She further conveyed admiration for Harris’s abilities, stressing it goes beyond her gender. She anticipated, with enthusiasm, the historical significance Harris’s role would hold.