Since women’s involvement in politics greatly increased during the 1960s, women have accomplished many things and made their presence known in the space. 

One of these women is Stacey Abrams; a political leader, voting rights activist, lawyer and New York Times bestselling author. After serving for eleven years in the Georgia House of Representatives, in 2018, Abrams became the democratic nominee for governor of Georgia. Abrams was the first Black woman to become the gubernatorial nominee for a party in the United States, and was the first Black woman to deliver a response to the State of the Union. In 2018 Abrams launched Fair Fight, an organization that helps fight against voter suppression, this organization helps to fund and train voter protection teams, encourage voter participation and educate voters on elections and their voting rights. She is also a lifetime member on the Council of Foreign Regulations, the 2012 recipient of the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award and nominee for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is an educator and the youngest woman elected into congress and another very influential woman in politics. AOC grew up seeing the contrast in opportunities based on a person’s zip code and experiencing the impacts of New York’s rising income inequality, this is what inspired her to run for office on a campaign that rejects corporate PAC funds. AOC graduated from Boston University with degrees in economics and international relations. During this time she got the opportunity to work in the office of Ted Kennedy where she saw first hand what families who are separated by ICE go through. Because of this AOC eventually began work as an educational director with the National Hispanic Institute, where she helped Americans, DREAMers and undocumented youth. During the 2016 presidential election AOC worked as a volunteer organizer for Bernie Sanders which grew her skills in electoral organizing, a few years later in January 2019 she was elected into congress. Since being elected she has introduced the “Green New Deal” and continued to advocate for social, racial, economic and environmental injustice as well as represent working class people. It is also possible AOC might run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2024, which would make her the youngest person to run for president.

Sarah Mcbride is another very important woman in politics; in 2020 Mcbride made history, becoming the first openly transgender state senator. She was also the first openly trans woman to intern in the Obama White House, and to speak at the Democratic National Convention in 2016. Mcbride is currently the spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, which is the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, because of this she has become one of America’s strongest voices in the fight for LGBTQ equality. Mcbride is also on the Board of Directors of Equality Delaware and has been awarded the Order of the First State for her efforts in  advancing equality in Delaware. She also became an author after publishing her memoir “Tomorrow Will Be Different” in 2018. 

These women and many more have all made a change in their own way, and helped pave the way for others who wish to follow in their footsteps.