Ambar L.
Hillary Clinton is a highly-qualified, experienced leader, and she has been a role model for me throughout my life. I’ve always been ambitious and often feel that I have to work twice as hard just to be considered good at what I do. I majored in economics and mathematics in college, and I was the only Latina in that academic program at that time and one of only a few women.
As a double minority, I am driven by the feeling that “good enough” will never be enough. This led me to work the hardest on visible outcomes — such as high grades, hard classes, and summer research positions, often at the expense of a social life. My college was a very liberal and empowering environment, but even then, every day I felt like I had something to prove. And I’ve always seen that with Hillary — she sets ambitious goals, works incredibly hard (inspiring the “texts from Hillary” memes), seeks out top experts and often becomes an expert herself, resulting in no candidate being more qualified or experienced than she is. And yet… it’s still not enough. I’m excited that we have the opportunity to elect her as our first woman president, and I don’t want to hide that or apologize for it just because I’m a woman!
I worked in health care consulting after college, but I wanted to do research that would have a bigger positive impact, so now I am in my third year of my Ph.D. in health care economics. I love how my program combines rigorous economic methods with policy relevant topics. In pursuing my Ph.D., I am achieving the highest education level in my field. But even then, there are still issues of gender bias and inequity. For example, recent research found that female economists from top 30 schools are less likely to get tenure if they don’t publish by themselves… because if they publish with other people, they don’t get credit for their work because of unconscious bias. A man collaborating with a woman implicitly gets the credit as a co-author — while a woman, to prove her contribution, has to be a solo author. It’s a painful reminder that even when you’re at the top, even when you do everything you’re supposed to do, sometimes it’s still not enough for women. A similar story seems to exist for Hillary, despite all of her accomplishments.
Deep down, millions of voters know that Hillary has broken down the barriers to be where she is. When I was little, I wasn’t aware of any barriers in my way. I wanted to be president of the World Bank, and it didn’t occur to me that the World Bank had never had a woman president. I wanted to be the Chairwoman of the Federal Reserve long before Janet Yellen was appointed in 2014. I grew up thinking opportunities were limitless. We still have a long way to go, but I am so inspired by all the women who have paved the way for little girls with big dreams.
One of the issues that is most important to me is health care — especially making sure women have access to the full range of health care they need. When or whether a woman has a child is one of the most economically life-changing decisions in her life, and Hillary is the only candidate who talks about reproductive health and other “women’s issues” as economic issues for families. If a candidate is running on an economic platform, but that platform doesn’t address the specific challenges women face, it’s incomplete! Hillary has a strong policy plan for paid family and medical leave, and she understands that it isn’t just about women staying home with their babies: parental leave increases women’s ability to return to the workforce and support their children later. Plus, paid parental leave helps babies stay healthy, and having a healthier baby is good for a mother economically! It’s all related. Hillary gets that, and she has a record of fighting for health care policies that help children and families. When she took up the cause of health care reform as first lady, she hit roadblocks, but she won a huge victory for kids by getting CHIP, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, passed. She dreams big and takes on tough battles, and she knows how to negotiate so that we’re always making progress together.
To me, it’s so clear that Hillary’s whole life has consistently been about helping others. Her first job out of law school was helping vulnerable children! But you’ll still find a narrative that takes those facts and comes away with an opposite interpretation. On social media, I constantly have to defend my right to an educated vote without apologies. I feel I am respectful of other political perspectives, yet why is my informed decision to enthusiastically support Hillary Clinton not deserving of the same? Someone I don’t even know took the time to write nine paragraphs on Facebook about why my opinion doesn’t matter. Nine paragraphs! People who refuse to accept that my opinion matters remind me why this election is so important. Hillary and her supporters are going to have to work hard to overcome obstacles on the way to the White House. But I know that she’s used to having to get things done the hard way, and she’s driven to prove to women and girls everywhere that we can do anything.
-As told to #ShesWithUs
