Hillary Clinton Says This Is The Most Important Step In Making Women Heard
Regardless of your political feelings about Hillary Clinton, she is making history for women.
While she is doing so, she is taking the steps to thank and support other women. In her speech on the night she officially clinched the Democratic primary, for instance, she spoke about the fight for women's suffrage at Seneca Falls and her own mother, who was born on the day women got the vote.
Clinton took this message one step further on Friday by penning a short piece for The Toast.
The Toast is a female-centric website that has served as an awesome space for women's voices on a variety of subjects, from literature to celebrity dreaming to hilarious art commentary.
Unfortunately, The Toast is shutting down on Friday as its founders leave the site for other pursuits. But it will live on in our memories as a positive space where women could write about otherwise little-acknowledged topics and people and just generally have fun.
Apparently, Clinton was also a fan of The Toast and two former Toast staffers are working for her campaign.
Clinton wrote a moving piece about the importance of spaces for women's voices. She wrote:
In nearly every industry, from publishing to scientific research, women have had to forge their own paths against overwhelming odds and less-than-friendly welcomes.
Clinton wrote about joining Congress in 2001 as one of 13 women.
The most important thing, she said, was that women were supporting other women, regardless of political party. For instance, Senator Barbara Mikulski starting a tradition of dinner parties for the women in the Senate. Clinton said:
Over a glass of wine — okay, maybe three — we'd give each other support, advice, and highly relevant tips to navigate being in such an extreme minority.
Clinton acknowledged the work that The Toast creators -- and women like them in other industries -- did to create a space for women.
She gave women some moving advice:
Speak your opinion more fervently in your classes if you're a student, or at meetings in your workplace. Proudly take credit for your ideas. Have confidence in the value of your contributions.
And if the space you're in doesn't have room for your voice, don't be afraid to carve out a space of your own.
Clinton ends her piece by telling the readers and creators of the site to "keep giving them hell."
