America is a country where young girls can look up to the stars and aspire to one day become president. Vice President Kamala Harris rose from her modest roots to become the second American woman nominated by a major party to become President of the United States.
Although there have been 46 presidents in the 248 years of America’s existence, a woman has never held the office. Vice President Harris hopes to become the first to hold this esteemed position and her campaign is creating a case for gender equality in the 21st century.
Vice President Harris intends to become the first woman, second African American, and first person of Indian descent ever to hold the Oval Office. She spent most of her career as a prosecutor, aiding her clients, whom she has expressed have always been the American people. Vice President Harris provides America with a different candidate from the predominately white men who have run the race before her: a strong, articulate Black woman. It would be a historic moment if she were to win, and a huge step forward towards equality in America
According to the United Nations, it will take, “47 years to achieve equal representation in national parliaments.” Currently, only 28% of the people in America’s federal government are women. These statistics are big figures in the upcoming election, where Vice President Harris has faced substantial prejudice due to her gender.
As the first female Attorney General of California, Vice President Harris worked tirelessly to support veterans, students, and Californian civilians in court. She has been criticized in the election for her work, being called “too soft,” yet “too hard” on crime. Although adversaries can criticize her policies, they should not criticize her solely because she is a woman.
As a presidential candidate, Vice President Harris has consistently spoken about how she wants her presidency to be focused on building and supporting a strong middle class. She intends to do this by implementing tax cuts for members of the middle class, creating a more opportunistic economy that invigorates the American dream. By doing this, she aims to create a society where everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed. Vice President Harris is also running to protect Medicare, create a Freedom to Vote Act, and sign a bill passed by Congress for reproductive freedom.
As Attorney General from 2011-2017 and District Attorney prior, Vice President Harris stood up for many women against predators in sexual assault cases. In her speech at the Democratic National Convention, Vice President Harris shared that she was inspired to stand up for women in these cases after learning that her childhood friend was being sexually abused by her stepfather. Vice President Harris is still standing up for women by leading key discussions on abortion, a pivotal issue in this year’s election.
It would be hard to imagine someone with Vice President Harris’s modest beginning running for president 20 years ago. Vice President Harris credits her mother, who raised her and her sister in a working class community, for teaching her to “never complain about injustice, but do something about it.” Her mother also taught her to “never let anyone tell you who you are,” and instead “show them who you are.”
Vice President Harris’ presence as a woman on the presidential stage is driving a new wave of feminism and women’s advocacy in America. The world is watching Vice President Harris defy historical expectations and define a new generation of women in America. The movement for women’s rights and empowerment began with Women’s Suffrage, where women like Ida B. Wells and Elizbeth Cady Stanton inspired young women to demand their right to vote.
Now, Vice President Harris is inspiring a new generation of American women to demand equality in matters of representation and government. They are inspired to become anything from lawyers, attorneys, senators, and even someday Presidents. Vice President Harris’ run on the presidential stage has become a bright symbol for the future of women’s status and equality in the United States.
