The 2024 presidential election characterized one of the most polarized periods in our country’s history. Red or blue, Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, this election revealed one thing about America as a whole–we cannot accept the idea of a female president.

Before I continue, I need to clarify that this article doesn’t involve party affiliation or dislike for a certain candidate. It is simply about how much of America, Democrat or Republican, is skeptical about a woman holding a position of power.

For a country that boasts of its justice and acceptance, this fact is quite disappointing. America is supposed to be paving the path toward gender equality, but it is clear we still have much work to do in this field.

In the 2016 presidential election, Trump won against Democrat Hilary Clinton. In 2020 he lost against Joe Biden. And in 2024 he was victorious over Harris.

While other economic and social factors played into the results of the most recent presidential elections, there is one common denominator: Trump only beat women and only lost the presidency to a man.

Additionally, according to a poll taken by AP News, 45% of men ages 18-44 supported Trump in the 2020 election against Biden. In 2024, 53% of men in this same age group supported Trump.

This data doesn’t just pertain to men. That same poll found that 37% of women ages 18-44 supported Trump in the 2020 election, while in 2024 44% of women in this age group gave their vote to Trump.

I’m not saying these statistical discrepancies are solely due to the gender of candidates; however, the numerical trends do show that American people are reluctant to vote for a woman.

These sexist patterns bleed outside the presidency as well. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, America is composed of 50.5% women, which is over half the population. Despite this, a Pew Research study found some staggering statistics.

Women only make up 28.5% of the House of Representatives votes as of 2023, the highest percentage of females in the Cabinet was 48% under Biden and women only account for 10.6% of all CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. Thus, women are not proportionately represented in the institutions that have the most influence over American policy.

So why do Americans, males and females alike, not trust women to be leaders? Why are people unable to move past the archaic belief that women are biologically inferior to their male counterparts?

For one, women face numerous double standards that plague how voters perceive them. What’s more, many of these “attributes” don’t even pertain to a politician’s job.

Women in the public eye have to always look put-together, but they can’t be too beautiful or they are accused of trying too hard. When a woman cares about an issue, she’s deemed hysterical, while a man who acts the same way is just passionate. And when women become angry, they are emotional and irrational while men are strong and determined.

Women are also viewed as the weaker sex, especially physically. A common critique heard of Harris during the election was that she wouldn’t be able to go up against world leaders such as Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un due to her gender. Most likely these people haven’t watched Harris take down men twice her size in the courtroom.

America has been waiting 248 years for its first female president. This country likes to think itself superior to other nations, but how can it keep up that mentality when failing to meet benchmarks that countries such as India, Argentina and England met years ago?

As a country, America needs to stop thinking about the presidency as a male-only role. Just like men, women are powerful, intelligent, fierce, complicated, articulate and creative beings that deserve representation.

I don’t expect this article to change the election results. I don’t expect Trump to make all of his Cabinet appointments women. And I certainly don’t expect men or women to automatically become more open to female leadership.

But there are things I expect of myself. I expect myself to use my voice. I expect myself to take action when I see injustice.

Most importantly, I expect myself to fight to create a world in which my future daughter is free to dream of being anything, even the president of the United States of America.