Kamala Harris: A Look Back at Women’s Struggles and a Look Forward to a Better Future

By Paige Winters (pwinter6@jccc.edu). Winters is a video producer for The Campus Ledger. This is her second semester at the college. She enjoys covering stories and events on campus through videography. She spends most of her time at local concerts, out with friends or with her dog.

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History was made this past week when Kamala Harris, our first women and person of color was elected as vice president elect of the United States to serve along Joe Biden.  

(Keehli Campbell) “It’s setting a good example and after so many years she’s the first women of color to be the Vice President and it might make other women of color feel less discouraged to try to fill that position.” 

(Deb Carmichael) “It’s a white man in that position and now it’s a woman it’s a black woman which may erase some barriers with small girls that want to achieve what they want to achieve. 

This achievement by Harris has allowed older generations to reflect on the cruel gender inequalities they had to face over the years.  

(Carmichael) “I’ll start in the mid 80’s I worked for an advertising agency and I was the director of advertising production, and my boss was a man, I was promoted from that and went into account services as a senior accounting executive and reported to a man.”  

(Carmichael) The biggest stumble or biggest barrier was that it was expected of the females on the account team, when they went to California, specifically that “take it for the team” that whatever clients wanted to go party or whatever, if sex, oral sex was wanted, hey whatever it takes to keep that client. I refused to do so and eventually within a year I was let go. 

(Carmichael) Back in the 80s, number one if you brought it up you would immediately be fired because there were no protections, number two nobody would believe you they would say you led somebody on. 

Although a harsh reality, this was what it was like for women working just forty years ago, but with advances such as electing Harris, things are starting to change.

(Carmichael) “I opened my own advertising production company and in four years it became a four-million-dollar company, and it was just from all the experience from I had gained, but there was no one standing in my way it was me and another woman. 

Having a woman of color be one of the faces of our country holds a strong image to what America would potentially work towards.  

(Campbell) “I hope that she helps Joe Biden make good decisions for our country, but I also hope she will serve as an aspiration for others similar to how Michelle Obama did. 

(Campbell) “I think that overall, it’s good leadership position and it’s different than it’s been for ever since we have had a president. 

Electing leaders such as Kamala Harris doesn’t fix racism or sexism in our country, but hopefully will open the door to future politicians who just a couple of years ago wouldn’t have had a chance.  

(Carmichael) “It’s been a slow gradual change, but I see a positive movement across all levels of cooperate business. 

(Carmichael) “I grew up in the 60s and that’s when a lot of the women’s movement started along with systemic racism and it’s taken all of that time to get as far as we are right now so it a lot better than it used to be, but it still has a ways to go, but I think having Kamala Harris as VP shows how far along, we’ve progressed. 

Reporting from The Campus Ledger, this has been Paige Winters.  

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