Why gender matters in politics, and what has to change

Gender shouldn’t matter when choosing a president — but after nearly 250 years of American democracy and zero women presidents, it clearly has. Now, if we want to save democracy, something has to change.

The question isn’t whether voters are ready for a woman leader. Vice President Harris has already passed that milestone.

She has more than proved her integrity, leadership and effectiveness. Every time this sexist trope is used against Kamala Harris, voters see it for what it is — a cheap shot intended to keep her from shattering that last glass ceiling over the White House.

A better question is whether voters are ready to support that proven leader, stand behind her when she’s viciously attacked, and be her allies on the campaign trail, and, once elected, in governing.

Women know they are “ready to lead, and leading” every day. And they know that to win in November, Harris will have to overcome centuries of sexism and decades of extremist politics that led to Donald Trump’s rise and return.

To succeed as the first woman president, Harris must depend on a broad coalition of support, one built on shared values and fundamental rights, not partisan bickering.

As the first woman president — and the first Black and Asian-American woman — Harris has firsthand experience unlike any other occupant of the White House — and it’s about time!

But as a candidate, Harris will face what may be the last stand of systemic sexism in our presidential politics.

Sebastian Gorka, a former Trump administration official, used a racist phrase from the 1950s when he said this about Harris: “She’s a DEI hire, right? She’s a woman. She’s colored. Therefore, she’s got to be good.”

Less than a year ago, Pew Research surveyed voter attitudes toward women and political leadership, especially on the importance of electing a woman president and the likelihood voters saw of that happening.

Only one in four said they thought it was extremely or very likely that the U.S. would elect a woman president in their lifetime. When asked why there are fewer women than men in office, more than half (54 percent) said women need to do more to prove themselves, and 46% said many Americans aren’t ready to elect a woman to high office.

That’s the result of that history of sexism baked into our politics — a history we can and must change to defend our democracy.

Gender will matter in this election, just as it has in so many others — but maybe in a different way.

In 2016, 53% of White women voted for Trump, while 94% of African-American women and 69% of Latinas voted for Hillary Clinton. A repeat of that result could mean defeat for Harris.

Of course, the historic nature of Harris’s candidacy will make gender a central issue in this campaign. Her opponents will try to put her on the defensive and make her explain why her gender isn’t an obstacle. Voters will see through that one, too.

The issue of women in politics shouldn’t be an issue — it should just be a fact. And it certainly shouldn’t be a weapon to diminish and weaken our democracy.

More and more, today’s voters — especially younger voters — are motivated not by partisanship or personal attacks but by their values, such as the right to vote, reproductive rights, gender equality, pay fairness, and safety in school and the workplace.

Those are the cornerstones of our democracy; women can be just as vigorous defenders of democracy as anyone.

If we say that democracy is the “government of the people, by the people and for the people,” then that must include all the people. All of us. Not just, as the Founders believed, other White men like themselves.

These are different times, and we are a different nation, one that we’re still creating and improving. Harris’s presidential candidacy will show how blasting gender bias in politics, along with that last glass ceiling, is a long overdue fix.

Christian F. Nunes is the president of the National Organization for Women.