The rise of female power over the course of 2015 has reached out to many subcultures, such as the LGBT+ community, different ethnic groups, and also our government. Women are not given enough credit for what they do as a part of our United States government which may be because that there are not enough of them in comparison to males.

 According to Catalyst.org, only 19.3% of the House of Representatives and 20% of the Senate are female. It also states that only 24 of the 90 members of congress are women of color, representing 4.5% of the total members of Congress. Strong women in politics, such as Elizabeth Warren and Hillary Clinton, have made improvements in our U.S. government. Clinton was the 67th United States Secretary of State, a United States Senator, and the First Lady. She helped expand healthcare and family leave for military families and also negotiated a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. While she was First Lady, Clinton initiated the Adoption and Safe Families Act. Senior  Senator from Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren, introduced her first bill in 2013, the Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act and also the Equal Employment for All Act in 2015. Warren also gave a speech in 2015 on as to why Planned Parenthood should not be defunded. Both of these women are completely different, but they both have similar goals. Warren and Clinton both know the troubles it takes to get to where they are now and are definitely women to look up to.

 In regards to the female shortage in our government, senior Alyssa Adamkowski says, “I think that there needs to be more programs for young girls to attend that would provide girls with a chance to learn more about what it is like to play an active role in the government and what it takes to reach certain positions. Also the women that do have positions now in the government need to receive media attention. That way young girls will also be exposed to actual female role models for them to strive to be like. If all a little girl sees/hears about is men where the government is concerned, she is never going to think it is a realistic goal for her to be a part of our government.”

 Every country has its flaws, but it seems that women in politics are criticized for petty things, such as the way they are dressed and their ethnicity. During a parliamentary debate in 2013, South African politician Lindiwe Mazibuko who is also the Parliamentary Leader for the opposition Democratic Alliance, was attacked by multiple sexist comments. A white male MP rose and demanded that she must explain to this house what has she done to her hair and suggested that she might be arrested by the fashion police for her bad taste in fashion.  

 Sophomore Justine Annab says, “I think that having more women in our government would show progression in gender equality and it would give the United States different perspectives on certain issues.” There are many women in our U.S. government that are striving to make a change for the women in our country. Only America can help decide when the time is right for women to be given the chance to stand out.