As we all knew instantly from our Twitter and Facebook feeds, Barack Obama was officially re-elected last Tuesday night. With the presidential election getting so much media attention, some other election results that may be especially important to college women election are being overshadowed. No matter what political party you affiliate with, this election was a historic and significant step forward in the fight for gender equality.
A Record Twenty Women Will Serve in the United States Senate
Before this election, there were seventeen female Senators, but that all changed last night. Five women won first terms in the senate, four of which were Democrats. Deb Fischer in Nebraska, Tammy Baldwin also in Nebraska, Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota, Mazie Hirono in Hawaii, and here in Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren beat Incumbent Scott Brown by a whopping 8%. Warren is the first female Senator Massachusetts has ever elected. Also an important note, in the traditionally red state of Missouri, Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill came out on top over her opponent Todd Akin, now famous for his “legitimate rape” comment.
First Openly Lesbian Woman Elected to Senate
Tammy Baldwin triumphed over Tommy Thompson in Wisconsin, becoming the very first openly gay or lesbian United States Senator.
First Asian Woman Elected to Senate
Hawaii elected Mazie Hirono, the first Asian-American woman to serve in the United States Senate. She is also the first Japanese Immigrant to be elected to senate, as well as the first Buddhist.
First Female Veteran and First Disabled Woman Elected to the House of Representatives
Tammy Duckworth, who lost both legs fighting in Iraq, was victorious over her opponent in Illinois.
So what does this mean?
We are closer to becoming a nation that values the opinions of men and women equally. With more women in the Senate, one in five seats are now held by women, we can feel like our voices are being heard. We’re starting to see the end of the tired pattern of a bunch of men determining how much we should get paid, what we can do with our bodies, and whether or not we have realistic access to birth control. These are women’s issues, therefore women should have a voice in the decisions.
Finally, the opinions of real women, strong, articulate, diverse women, will start to be heard so loudly they will be impossible to ignore. We can be confident after this election that we have a stronger and louder voice in the government, and it’s about time.