To Elect a Woman President, We Need Men
Originally published by Reshma Saujani for Marie Claire
If watching the election returns roll in gave you a sense of déjà vu, you’re not alone: For the third time in a row, a majority of white women voted to send Donald Trump to the White House.
But Trump also made huge gains among men. Young white men without college degrees, yes—but nearly half of Latino men voted for him, too. He even doubled his support among Black men (though Black men, on the whole, supported Kamala Harris).
We’ve known for a long time that gender would be a defining issue of this election, but it would be a grave mistake to think that the story ends now that the ballots are counted. If anything, our work has just begun. We can’t rally our girlfriends to the polls every four years and expect to win—it’s a losing strategy to ignore half the electorate. If we’re serious about defending women’s opportunities in this country, then we’re going to have to do the last thing in the world we ever expected to do: start talking about men’s opportunities.