In the aftermath of a very intense and, yes, very disappointing election cycle, there are some bright spots for women’s leadership. Women outdistanced the 2022 record for most women governors, with one more woman rising in the ranks—Republican Kelly Ayotte was elected as the first female governor of New Hampshire. That means in January, we will have 13 female governors from both political parties serving simultaneously, which is not only the top job on the state level but also great executive experience for future U.S. Presidents. This election has shown overwhelmingly that we need more women leaders so that everyone can experience and understand the benefits of having women in top jobs.
While we’re still waiting for the first woman U.S. President, we need to celebrate more firsts and important gains for women in representation in both houses of Congress:
- Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, 53, is the first Black woman to represent Maryland in the Senate and the second female senator from the state.
- Democrat Lisa Blunt Rochester, 62, is the first Black and first female senator from Delaware.
- Democrat Emily Randall, 39, is the first out LGBTQ person elected to Congress from Washington State as well as the first out LGBTQ Latina elected to serve in the House.
- Democrat Sarah McBride became the first openly transgender member elected to Congress in Delaware.
- Democrat Yassamin Ansari, 32, is the first Iranian American woman to represent Arizona in Congress after winning a House seat.
- Republican Julie Fedorchak, 56, is the first woman to represent North Dakota in the House of Representatives.
- Democrat Julie Johnson, 58, became the first out LGBTQ person elected to the House of Representatives for Texas.
Millions of women and men spoke out in favor of reproductive freedoms within their states. Voters in 10 states were given the opportunity to decide whether to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitutions this year. The measures that passed will lift abortion bans in two states and expand access in others. Defeated measures in three states will keep their abortion restrictions in place. The win in Missouri is the first to undo a full ban — which was one of the strictest in the nation—the first enacted after the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, which amounted to an optional nationwide abortion ban. At the time, the possibilities were unclear. Since then, we have watched women die needlessly, and doctors having to leave states for fear of prosecution. Every voice speaking up for women to regain freedom over their own bodies is a reason to celebrate.
Voters in New York deserve applause for approving Proposition 1, which will continue to protect transgender and abortion rights through the state’s Equal Rights Amendment. The new language, which was added to the existing amendment, states that people cannot be denied civil rights because of their national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, or “reproductive healthcare and autonomy.”
And last but not least, same-sex marriage – federally legalized in 2015 – was also on the ballot in California, Colorado, and Hawaii to safeguard marriage equality in case Obergefell v Hodges is ever targeted by the Supreme Court like Roe v. Wade was in 2022.
We need to remember these record-making firsts and proclamations from many of the voters keeps equality for all on a positive path forward. Our democracy’s ideal is “government by the people for the people.” As long as people are allowed to vote, each election provides the opportunity to elect those who represent them and support their quality of life. It’s the representation that’s important. Whether we’re electing women or men to represent us, those representatives need to serve us all, not just these people or those, not just women or men, not just straight or gay, black, white or brown, not just this religion or that—all the people. Let’s work together, courageously support each other, and make our nation’s ideal the way we live every day, providing service to others and keeping our country “the land of the free and home of the brave.”