KILLEEN, TX — "She believed she could, so she did" is quickly becoming the mantra of 2021 it seems as 129 women, more than ever before, look to hold seats in Congress.
If you split our country down the middle, we would see a near perfect balance of genders.
As Grace Chimene, the president of the League of Women's Voters of Texas pointed out, our federal government should mirror that.
“Government is better when more people participate in our democracy and when our democracy looks like the people that they’re representing,” she said.
Though, 100-years-ago, it was a different story.
“It took a long time to get there, there were thousands and thousands of women all across the country, fighting in their different states,” Chimene said. “Just to get the 19th amendment passed.”
Experts told 25 News, the challenges women faced in the 1900s didn’t necessarily go away, in fact some argue they’ve taken on different forms.
“Women have to behave as if they are Margaret Thatcher,” Jeffrey Dixon, an associate professor of political science at Texas A&M Central Texas said. “They have to be iron ladies just to be in politics and prove that they’re even tougher or more 'huffish' than most men.”
Dixon said the scarce number of females in politics is partially due to the historical lack of representation which leads young girls to believe the goal is unattainable.
But when they do assume office...
“We have a reason to believe that the women who do get nominated are more qualified than the men who get nominated,” Dixon said. “Because they have to go above and beyond to get the same nomination.”
Having someone who looks like you in a position of power is important.
“They know that they can do this,” Chimene said. “They know that there is nothing that should be getting in their way to try to make this government the best government it can be.”
2021 breaks a previously set record of 127 women in Congress that was set back in 2019.
