Why It Is A Big Deal...

Not long ago, when we were watching the news,  my 8 year old granddaughter asked: " Grandma, has there ever been a girl president?"
(Remember, she is 8 years old.  She does not know that it is politically correct to say woman.She thinks in terms of girls and boys.)
"No, I told her.   If Hillary becomes president, she will be the first."

Well, Hillary is now the first woman presumptive nominee of a  major party and thus has a chance to become president.   And while some women are rejoicing because of this historic feat, others are saying it is no big deal.

Yes, we have come a long way, but there are still elusive barriers.   Whether we call them a glass ceiling or a  labyrinth, or whatever, the path to success is not always there.  

Younger women who have no difficulty getting a good first job when they get out of college wonder why we older women are sometimes skeptical about future opportunities     They have not yet encountered their first major barrier or, if they have, they did not recognize it.   It will come later very likely.

I teach a graduate course in women and leadership.  It is not infrequent that a woman tells me:  "You know, I just read something in one of the books that made me realize that I had encountered the same situation, but did not recognize it at the time."

I am more attuned to the signs of discrimination against women, in part because I have seen and experienced so much, and in part because of the awareness that comes with teaching such a course regularly.    I am always learning about new issues, large and small, obvious or subtle.

Whether one supports Hillary Clinton for president is not the key issue here, but the fact that a major party will have a woman candidate for president for the first time is a very big deal.  Savor the moment.