Hillary makes history in US presidential race

Hillary Clinton is not the first woman to run for president. That honour goes to the Suffragette Victoria Woodhull, who ran in 1872 — a whole 48 years before women were granted permission to vote. But yesterday Clinton became the first woman to be nominated by one of America’s major political parties, defeating the socialist Bernie Sanders. Unlike the female candidates before her, she has a genuine shot at the most powerful job in the world.

Her supporters voted for her ‘for many reasons,’ she said. But among them was the belief that a woman president would make a ‘historic statement’ about the ‘kind of country we are.’

Countries as diverse as Britain, India and Haiti have all made that statement in the past, but the US is yet to join the club. And while the symbolism is important, her supporters have argued that having women in charge leads to real, concrete benefits: female legislators in the US are more likely to advocate ‘women’s issues’ like equal pay and childcare; their laws make it further through congress; they bring around 9% more government funding home to their states.

Clinton is also incredibly qualified for the role. She was a successful lawyer in the 1970s. She served as first lady while her husband Bill was president in the 1990s. She was a senator for New York. She lost the Democratic nomination for president to Barack Obama in 2008, but then spent four years in charge of his foreign affairs.

Throughout everything, her gender has always been significant. She has faced sexism from all sides of the political spectrum, and has been criticised both for being ‘too masculine’ and for playing the ‘woman card’. At times the media has been so focused on her looks that in 1995 she joked ‘if I want to knock a story off the front page, I just change my hairstyle.’

She downplayed her gender when facing Obama in 2008. But this time around she has used it to convince vulnerable voters that she is on their side. Should she keep using it during the next stage of her campaign: taking on the Republican nominee Donald Trump?

Working woman

Yes, say some. A female president would be an enormous inspiration to women and girls around the world: it is proof that they can do anything, and their gender should never hold them back. As Clinton puts it, she is trying to break the ‘highest and hardest glass ceiling’ — she should remind people of how historic it will be if she succeeds.

No, say others. She does not need to keep bringing it up. The looming showdown against Trump is not about men and women, it is a choice between traditional politics and populist outsiders. Hillary should be talking about her experience and ideas, not the obvious fact of her gender.