It was a historic moment to have a woman lead the presidential ticket of a major political party. But how did the outcome of this election change how women feel about their own career aspirations?
We asked our community at InHerSight how the results of the election have made them feel about their own career prospects and aspirations. We heard from more than 750 professional women in the US, and despite the encouraging words from Hillary Rodham Clinton in her concession speech on Wednesday about the future prospects for women and girls, their responses were overwhelmingly pessimitic.
More than 75% of the women we polled report feeling worse about their prospects for advancement in their careers based on the results of the election while just 8% of the women we polled feel better about their prospects for professional advancement. Here's a sampling of what they had to say.
In Their Own Words
The president-elect doesn't support policies that help women in their careers (e.g. maternity leave, affordable child care for everybody) and undermines women's rights, because he shows a lack of respect for women.
I knew this country had issues with sexism & women in power, but it is a lot worse than I realized.
The fact that a woman made it so far in the presidential election is inspiring. While it's very upsetting that she didn't win, it should be seen as a challenge for women to continue fighting and pushing for higher and higher positions until our goals are achieved.
Living and trying to build a career as a woman in a nation who accepted demeaning speech against women as okay enough to elect a candidate seems like a major support of such behavior. If the president can do it, it sets the tone for the nation...
I'm a white woman, but I would say the prospects for minorities is "significantly worse"
Electing someone with the record of behavior toward women that the president elect has, someone who would have been fired for harassment at any other job, will make the workplace and advancement into top tier positions even more challenging for women. Women who speak out will be met with retaliation and violence.
The election results confirmed my fear that people associate men with leaders and women with supporting roles. It won't be until women break that highest and hardest glass ceiling that our promises to girls and young women that they can achieve anything they are willing to work for will finally be true.
I don't think there's a large sexist basis for Clinton not winning. We already won by having her as a candidate.
It feels as though even if a woman is incredibly more qualified than her male competition, she has no chance of success. Of course there were many factors that contributed to Trump's win, but it is very discouraging to be an aspirational woman right now.
Hillarys loss just validated everything we have been scared of for women, and made crystal clear that there are barriers we just cannot get past, yet. The glass ceiling is still strong and patriarchy is still alive and well.
I consider myself a well educated young woman with good experience. It's been challenging to find the right fit for jobs. It's really discouraging to see a man with no experience and a horrible attitude achieve the highest office while I see so many of my colleges struggle to find jobs worthy of their skills.
The election results showed me that a woman can run for president and win the popular vote, even if she didn't win president. This was not a step backward but rather a significant step forward for women everywhere. I can't wait to see how many more women are in the presidential primary in 2020!
She made it far, but still lost to a man who is less qualified for the job. This is what we go through everyday.
