A Female-Filled Political Future
Dissecting the “women’s wave” in the 2018 midterm elections
By Emma Foster
The Progressive Teen Contributor
The recent congressional election and oath of office have proven our society’s increasing acceptance and receptivity to the equal status of women in positions of power. The newest additions to the United States Congress consist of 127 women: 17 Democrats and 8 Republicans in the Senate, as well as 89 Democrats and 13 Republicans in the House. The stark difference between the number of Democratic and Republican women elects is perplexing to many. Back in 1989, when the 101st Congress assembled, 16 Democratic women were elected to the House, and 13 Republican women were elected — the number of Republican elects being the same that serves in the 116th Congress today. The unequal distribution of women among party lines indicate that the Democratic Party has become much more progressive; the Democrats see women as more capable of occupying positions of political power.
The last election has broken so many barriers and inspired many young women to let their voices be heard. One of the many elects is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Ocasio-Cortez, an elect from New York, is the youngest woman to ever be elected to Congress. Her persistence in fighting for immigration reform has drawn attention from the populace. Her millennial following has gained her a lot of support in the last election — and most likely in elections to follow. The first female bisexual congresswoman was sworn in as well: Kyrsten Sinema. While Sinema has proclaimed having many liberal views, she has voted in favor of Trump’s proposals nearly 60% of the time, which is perplexing for someone of her ideals. Her swearing-in demands unique attention to many because Vice President Pence, who is generally known to be anti-LGBT, had looked uncomfortable while swearing her in, causing debate about his stances and morals.
The first two Native American women, Deb Haaland and Sharice David, were also sworn in, and a recent powerful image shows them embracing, celebrating their elections. Haaland is from the Laguna Pueblo tribe, located in New Mexico. Being so close to the border, Haaland has formed a strong stance on immigration as she’s seen families torn apart first hand. While she doesn’t support the wall, she supports strong immigration reform and vows to make this a priority during her tenure. David is a member of the Ho-Chunk tribe; in addition to being a Native American, she is a member of the LGBTQ community, and her position in government celebrates diversity and the representation of minorities in our government exquisitely. States such as Tennessee and Mississippi have sent women to Capitol Hill for the first time in the last election. However, Vermont is the only state that has yet to send a woman to Congress. The first Muslim women were elected, as well as the first African-American women from various states, and the firsts of many other minority women. All of these firsts prove change. The diversity of the newest congressional elects and empowering women — and the fact that this female wave is primarily happening within the Democratic Party — is astonishing.
The strongest woman in the house would have to be the Speaker of the House herself: Nancy Pelosi. Considering Trump’s incessant border wall pleas and the seemingly eternal government shutdown, a lot of the blame has been pushed onto Pelosi for not compromising. However, this notion proves to be false, as Pelosi has pushed to compromise and agreed to give 1.3 billion dollars for better border protection. Since she and the House will not agree to a wall, Pelosi has been blamed by many for the shutdown. Especially in the past few weeks, Pelosi has proven herself to be a strong leader for the house and has even attempted to compromise with Trump.
These women have done more than enough to prove themselves equal. Women often have to jump through more hoops to find themselves in leadership positions. This has been apparent since the beginning of time, and just now society is starting to see their capability. Women have done more than enough to prove themselves strong and worthy of their positions. Unfortunately, still, only 23% of congress is made up of women. With the diversity and amount of minorities in Congress at a record high, it is palpable that change is coming, We can only hope that elections to follow continue to increase the number of women in leadership positions. Through this last election, we see a glimpse into the future of politics. It’s evident that the future is bright, the future is clear, and the future is FEMALE.
