By Chloe Futrell, Editor-in-Chief
On Nov. 6, people all over the nation sat in front of the TV, eagerly waiting and watching as the results came in for elected officials. Among these Americans were the women who ran, watching as their chances of holding a seat in Congress increased by the minute.
As of Nov. 7, history was made for women everywhere – 131 women will hold seats in the 116th U.S. Congress, with 28 in the Senate and 103 in the House of Representatives. In 2000, only 65 women served in Congress.
The first woman to break the status quo was Jeannette Rankin in 1917.
“She (Rankin) plays an important role because she helped create the legislation that was going to become the 19th Amendment,” history teacher Erin Basilone said of women earning the right to vote in 1920. “It’s incredibly important that you have women in positions of power to make decisions, not just for their communities but for the country. It’s also about other minority candidates that have been elected to Congress as well.”
The 2018 election signified major progress for females in the U.S. According to Vox News, dozens of countries have passed America in the number of women in government.
“We’ve got more women in (Congress) than ever before,” Basilone said. “The visibility for those women working at that level of government to represent their communities, they inspire other women in this country to maybe do the same.”
League of Women Voters board member Colleen Oaksmith feels passionately about the power of the recently elected congresswomen and the impact they can have.
“I think that women need to see role models, and I think the more women that run the more will be elected and more young people will think, ‘Hey, I can run, too,’ ” Oaksmith said. “It’s not a special club you have to be a member of.”
According to SeeJane.org, girls are outnumbered three to one on TV. When girls watch TV, play with a toy, or even read a book, many want to see a character that resembles them.
“Something has to be modeled before you can believe in it for yourself,” Basilone said. “I think they (congresswomen) are absolutely going to be an important inspiration to young women growing up who are just gonna shrug and say, ‘Well, of course I can run for Congress if I want to.’ ”
Senior Chloe Futrell can be reached at futrellch1114@daretolearn.org
