Some Personal Reflections

On the heels of the Election week in the U.S., I wanted to share some personal reflections: 

• 100 years after women gained the rights to vote in the United States, we have the first woman—Black, South Asian, and a child of immigrant parents—elected to the office of the Vice President. Sen. Kamala Harris had already been breaking barriers as the first South Asian and only the second Black woman to become a U.S. Senator, and she will continue to chart her path into the White House in January 2021. My own experience as an immigrant and a woman of color—often told “no” because of the color of my skin or the sound of my name or accent—makes this a particularly poignant moment.
• Standing with VP-elect Harris are a number of elected officials who are breaking barriers of their own, including (but limited to!):
• Colorado’s very own Brianna Titone, who became the first transgender lawmaker in the state in 2018, just won the second term.
• Sarah McBride, who became the first openly transgender state senator in the country, after winning Delaware's 1st District.
• Mauree Turner, the first Muslim to be elected for the Oklahoma Legislature and the first nonbinary legislator in America.
• Ritchie Torres, one of the first openly-gay Black men to serve in Congress and the first openly-gay Afro-Latino person to serve in Congress.
• Taylor Small who will be the first transgender person to serve in the Vermont state legislature.
• Six (6) elected to the House of Representatives who are of native Hawaiian and indigenous American descent, including Stephanie Byers who became the first Native American transgender person elected to any state legislature.
• Jake Tapper of CNN acknowledged the efforts of the disability rights community (look up #CriptheVotes; also read about it here) as did the President-elect Biden—whose own battles with stuttering has become an example of his perseverance—in his speech this past Saturday night.
• Millions of little girls—including mine—watched rapturously as VP-elect Harris spoke to them: “While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last. Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.” I hope that someday we won’t have to make a big deal out of this because we should see this happen more and more often, and more normalized. I hope that by the time they are grown-ups, the hard work we are doing now to pull up chairs for everyone will be visible and lasting so that we spend less time talking about breaking barriers, and more time creating greater, positive impact together.
• And let’s not forget about the first second gentleman, Mr. Doug Emhoff, because behind every great woman, there’s a great partner, and in this case, a man. He’s not only breaking barriers as the first man to be in a supporting role to a woman in the Executive Branch of the United States, but will also be stepping into the residence of the Vice President as the first Jewish person to live there (seder 2021 at the Naval Observatory!). I’m a rare and incredibly fortunate beneficiary of a partner who is supportive of my career and stands 110% behind the choices I’ve made as a woman who wants to have it all. And I know that the professional accomplishments I’ve been able to make would not be possible without him. We often talk about how much more women need to “lean in” to opportunities and break the glass ceiling—but this is just as much about men, women, all of us creating the conditions with which that make sense for more women. That’s why family leave matters, and not just maternity leave. That’s why the conversations about gender norms and roles matter, and not just rallying women to do the work all on their own. That’s why the boys and men in our lives are just as important stakeholders to imagine a future that isn’t the same as today—it will take all of our imagination and work together to continue the hard work ahead.

No matter your party affiliation or your choice of candidates, I hope you’ll agree that this year’s election has been a remarkable milestone—for all of us, but especially for people who often stand in the margins of our society finally seeing some of their experiences and cultures being reflected in the images of those elected into public offices, and leading to more inclusive policies for all.