Throughout March, the Democrats will present an ongoing blog series celebrating American women of distinction, both past and present. Staff members at the Democratic National Committee and several female leaders in the Democratic Party have been asked to write about influential women in our country’s history and leaders who continue making contributions today.
When I think of strong women in positions of influence, I immediately think of Hillary Rodham Clinton. Throughout her four decades of service, she has worked consistently for those who need her voice, her strength, and her resolve. She is a leader with incredible courage who has fought through any obstacle in her path. She never let anyone tell her she couldn’t do it, simply because a woman had never done it before. I worked for Hillary Clinton in the primary races of 2008 because when I looked at her, I saw a woman who was passionate and talented, and could really make a change in this country.
Clinton is a woman who has broken barriers time and time again: she was the first female partner in her law firm in Arkansas, and was the first First Lady to hold a post-graduate degree when President Clinton entered the White House. When she ran for Senate, it was the first time a former First Lady had ever run for public office and upon her election, she became the first woman elected as a New York Senator. Clinton is the first former First Lady to serve in a president’s cabinet. Women look to her as a role model and as a woman who has seemed to achieve the ideals set forth in that age-old question: can women do it all? She has accomplished so much and has done it with a resolve that is uniquely Hillary Clinton.
Clinton worked tirelessly for decades in Arkansas where she advocated for children’s and family issues. During her tenure as First Lady, she was a force behind the effort to expand health insurance coverage for all Americans. Through her tireless advocacy, she helped to pass the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), providing support for those children whose parents could not afford health care coverage. The role of First Lady is forever changed because of Hillary and her work. And in her eight years as a New York Senator, Hillary Clinton exerted her influence to help all New Yorkers, particularly for the first responders after the attacks on September 11.
She then set her sights on the highest office in the land. Clinton entered the presidential race in 2007 and fought through one of the toughest primary battles in recent memory. She and then-Senator Barack Obama crossed the country for months, exciting voters with a fervor that is rarely seen in national politics. Emotions ran high as hard-fought states fell into one of two columns, striving to win the all-important Democratic nomination. No one could deny the historic nature of the race. Senator Clinton often cited her older female supporters who were born before women had the right to vote, and were proud to cast their vote for a woman for president. She also talked about the young women, who looked at her and believed that anything was possible. I have met hundreds of her supporters, and their passion and belief in her was profound and inspiring.
She is now serving our country yet again as Secretary of State, working to restore America’s influence throughout the world, and fighting to empower women in countries around the globe. She is one of the most respected and admired women in public office today, and she continues to inspire great passion in people.
I am so proud to have worked for a strong woman in politics. That work made me one of those 18 million cracks in that impossibly high glass ceiling in the primary election of 2008. Today, it is wholly unremarkable to have women in positions of power and the path to leadership is just a little bit easier. In large part, that is due to the work and dedication of the Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton, the 67th Secretary of State.