Televised political conventions got you mixed up about politics? Have no fear, HelloFlo is here!
While HelloFlo doesn’t endorse any one candidate for the 2016 United States elections, we do want our readers to stay informed about the issues that matter most to them. We care a whole lot that the women in our lives feel comfortable, safe and healthy, and we hope that the next President of the United States does too.
This analysis of the two major party candidates will look at the things others have said about what they’ll do for women and what they say they’ll do for women. While we’ve covered all potential major party candidates in the past, it’s time to go more in-depth and get more recent.
Donald Trump
The reality TV and real estate mogul made headlines when he first announced that he was running for the Republican nomination to the presidency. Despite many thinking it was just a joke, Trump was serious and took the world by storm, cultivating a strong fanbase.
If you Googled “Trump on women” and hit the ‘verbatim’ feature to make sure you have the most objective results, the first result is United Kingdom-based The Daily Telegraph’s “Donald Trump sexism tracker.” Indeed, Trump has a recorded history of making dehumanizing and demeaning comments toward women. Trump also stated that the government should defund Planned Parenthood, although he acknowledged that it helped millions of women. As a result, even Republican women are unhappy with his nomination.
However, Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, gave a long speech at the Republican National Convention emphasizing her father’s willingness to support working women if he becomes president. “As President, my father will change the labor laws that were put into place at a time when women were not a significant portion of the workforce,” she said. “And he will focus on making quality childcare affordable and accessible for all.”
While media analysts are split on what that means about Trump’s policies, some seem to be happy to see a woman taking such a large role in his campaign. There’s no category for women on Trump’s positions webpage, but there are still women who support him.
Hillary Clinton
Many cheering for Clinton noted that she was the first woman to be nominated for the presidency on a major party ticket. Indeed, if Clinton wins the presidential race, she will become the first female President of the United States, following in the footsteps of female leaders around the world like Park Geun-hye, Angela Merkel and Catherine Samba-Panza.
Clinton’s website has a section dedicated to women, naming critical issues such as paid parental leave and promoting women’s rights internationally. It outlines all the issues that the Democratic nominee thinks affect women, and what she thinks needs to be fixed about them. In an interview with The Huffington Post, senior policy advisor Maya Harris said that Clinton was aware of the issues women of color faced, and would work to fix them.
“She’s putting forward plans like how we’re going to be able to increase access to capital, which has been a barrier [and] a challenge for many women who are trying to start up businesses, in particular African American women, who she’s heard stories from along the campaign trail, and certainly over the years,” Harris said to the news website.
Nonetheless, some women of color are critical of the role that Clinton could play in affecting women of color. Michelle Alexander, a prominent black professor and civil rights advocate, criticized Clinton’s campaign in a post on The Nation, stating that both Bill and Hillary Clinton had done more harm than good to black Americans. And not all women are onboard with Hillary’s campaign.
Ultimately, you, the voter, have the chance to decide who becomes President of the United States. Go out, do your research and pick the candidate that you have the most faith in.
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