Hillary Clinton came very close to winning the 2016 Presidential Election. Almost each swing-state was split right down the middle for voter turn-out. Even though Clinton did not win, she will go down in history as an extraordinary representation of women. Trump played on his masculine traits in the beginning of the election against his contenders by screaming, insults and aggressive demeanor. This vicious behavior led him to knocking his competitors like Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz out of the race.
However, Trump’s play on masculinity never worked on Clinton. After being interrupted and insulted, especially during the debates, Clinton remained calm, focused and collected. She never let Trump get under her skin; instead continued to outsmart him. She fought very hard up until the final moments of the election. This shows us that women can in fact achieve the highest levels of leadership. Even though Clinton did not win, women should not be discouraged. We must look forward and continue to work and hope for a better future for women.
There is still gender inequality in leadership roles today. In almost every other country in the world, they have more women represented in leadership than the United States. We need to see more women running for office, congress, school boards–the list goes on. We need to encourage young women to go into these positions. We must ensure them that they are capable and deserving of these positions, regardless of the fact that they are typically dominated by men. Then, I believe, we will see a female president of the United States someday.