The eyes of the world have been on America for months. The race to The White House was bitter, and the result has left the world wondering ‘what next?’ One thing we do know is that the millennials that fall into the 18-24 demographic are not happy. At the time of writing, in all but 5 states, the youth vote went to the Hillary Clinton.
In fact, it’s not just the millennials who are not happy – over 60% of all black and latino men and women voted for Clinton, with the figure for black women voting for Clinton being as high as 94% on average.
Despite winning the popular vote, Clinton lost the race. She isn’t the President – elect, so why is she woman of the week?
Throughout her 40+ years in government, Clinton the ‘change maker’ has looked to the future on issues such as climate change, women’s equality, and education. Her election campaign boasted debt-free college education, a plan to power every American home on renewable energy, and promises to close the gender pay gap and fight for paid maternity leave. But what of these goals now Trump is the president-elect? What of his vow to cut funding to United Nations climate change programs, after calling climate change science a ‘hoax’? Will his views about pregnancy being an ‘inconvenience’ for employers be echoed in his government?
We do not know what these next 4 years hold for America, but we know Hillary Clinton does not want to stop fighting for a just and equal America. ‘Never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it’ she urged her twitter followers, as ‘a proud lifelong fighter for women’s issues’, it seems the passion and desire to make tomorrow’s America a better place will continue inside or out of The White House.
Perhaps Clinton has inspired the next generation of politicians to step forward, and fight for their beliefs, and finally ‘shatter that highest and hardest glass ceiling’, but for now, with an ‘open mind’ we must give Trump a chance to lead. But maybe, borrowing some words from the woman herself: ‘as soon as he travels to 112 countries and negotiates a peace deal, a cease fire… Or even spends 11 hours testifying in front of a congressional committee…’ he can talk to us about running The United States of America. But most importantly, as she reminded us in her concession speech: ‘To all the little girls watching…never doubt that you are valuable and powerful & deserving of every chance & opportunity in the world.’
Take a look at CNNs exit polls here: http://edition.cnn.com/election/results/exit-polls