Yes, there was a time of women’s rights before Hillary Clinton made her historic run for the presidency. Still, for the first time in the history of the United States of America, there is a female presidential candidate running for office on a major party ticket. Think about that. This is a really proud election cycle for all Americans, but especially for women’s rights advocates. Women weren’t even allowed to vote until the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920. And while this is certainly a monumental election cycle for women (thanks Hillary Clinton!) there’s still A LOT learn about women in politics and still MORE to do to support women’s rights and females running for office.
As Hillary Clinton famously said when she accepted the democratic nomination, “I can’t believe we just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet.” This glass ceiling, which has been limiting women in the political and professional arena for decades, has been getting cracked and nicked every time a woman holds a position of power or influence.
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We now live in a world where women aren’t just allowed to vote, but possess some of the most powerful political titles in the globe. Our daughters and granddaughters will never know a reality in which they are told their place is in the kitchen, or their political opinion doesn’t matter. After many (many!) years of women fighting for equal rights and equal opportunities, we are finally getting there. But there’s still a lot to learn and a lot of fighting to be done.
As we gear up for the 2016 presidential election, and the possibility of the first-ever female president of the United States, here are 15 things to know about women in politics.
- Where It Began
It all began in 1848, when the first women’s rights convention in the U.S. took place in Seneca Falls, New York, and key women’s rights figures such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton fought for women’s suffrage, among other equal rights topics.
