Kamala Harris makes history for she is the first ever female, black, and South Asian vice president. There have been many important women in politics such as Hillary Clinton, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Michelle Obama. All of these women have been huge role models for girls all across the country, and now it is Harris’s turn to become a role model for everyone.

While there have been women in politics, no woman has been in Harris’s position before. Deborah Brown, tenth grade history teacher, says, “Historically, the role of women in U.S. politics has been virtually nonexistent. There has been a lot of political activism on the part of women throughout U.S. history, but in terms of holding government positions, it’s been a tough road to achieve equal representation.”

It has only been one hundred years since women even got the right to vote, and since many women have tried to get involved in politics, but it is still dominated by men. Since Hutchison is an all-girls school, it is important for women to be represented in higher positions because of its impact.

Brown says, “At an all-girls school like Hutchison, I think it goes without saying that the student body is inspired by Kamala Harris, or any other woman who has worked to achieve such success. Hutchison teaches its students to find their voice and lead boldly. I think Vice President Harris embodies these very ideas.”

Many students think it is great to have a female vice president. Brooke Fair, class of 2023, explains, “I think it is really important for women and girls to see themselves represented as positions in power. If we ever want to have a society in which genders are equal, we need to see ourselves represented.” She uses an analogy and says that if someone reads a book and the character is just like them, then they might be inspired to go and do what that character did. Same goes for when a girl looks up to a woman in power across the world.

According to womenwin.org, some young girls need to see traits such as confidence, intelligence, and leadership in order to see those traits in themselves and be inspired. Girls will think that they can’t do something if they only see men in power, but with Harris as vice president, it could show girls across the country that they can do whatever they set their minds to. When asked how young girls might look up to Harris, Fair responds, “They would look up to her in the sense that she was able to make it where she is not because she was married to or the daughter of someone powerful. It is because she was educated. Young girls can see her and realize that being vice president, or even president, is an attainable goal.”