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Glass ceiling watch: will America elect its first female president? Glass ceiling watch: will America elect its first woman president?
(35 minutes later)
8.42pm GMT
20:42
Amber Jamieson
‘It was incredible. A little emotional. I’m super proud’
Guardian reporter Amber Jamieson is on the ground in New York – where Hillary Clinton is expected to win with a large margin – talking to voters at the polls this afternoon. She reports:
Women in Chelsea found themselves feeling more feelings than expected while voting for a woman president.
“It was incredible. A little emotional. I’m super proud to be voting for the first possible female president,” said Carol Han, a 36-year-old owner of a digital agency and Manhattan resident from Chelsea.
Voting for Clinton at the Andrew Heiskell Library on 20th St in Manhattan, she thought of “how far we’ve really come, it wasn’t that long ago women couldn’t vote”.
Helga Kopperl, an artist who declined to give her age, said she was “elated” to vote for a female president. “Thank god. I did something for my own,” she told The Guardian. “I didn’t expect to feel so emotional,” said Kopperl, noting that she was very careful to fill out her ballot paper correctly as she wanted to make sure her vote for a female president counted. “I wanted my ovals to fit, I wanted to do it right,” she said.
Kopperl also said she was just glad to have Clinton as a candidate. “She’s proven to me that she’s worked really hard,” said Kopperl.
For Elena Savostianova, a 38-year-old who works in finance, Clinton being female was just “an added bonus.”
“It’s exciting, I hope she wins by a lot,” she said, noting how frustrating the campaign had been and how she’d banned her daughter from watching the last debate as she “knew it was going to be nasty.”
Her daughter, Sasha Martire, aged 9, accompanied her mom to the ballot box.
“I know in history men thought women couldn’t be president and excluded them from deals. And now’s the chance to prove women are capable,” said the fourth grader.
Over in Brooklyn, Samarty Davis, an African-American woman in her 80s, was equally happy with her vote.
“First woman, we need it,” she said, just after voting at PS 256 in Bedford-Stuyvesant. “I really like her, she’s no pushover,” Davis, who added that she’s been a fan of Clinton since she was First Lady. “At first I thought: men made this mess, let them clean it up,” said Davis, before saying that she chose Clinton to ensure the best choice for her great grandchildren.
“I think it’s time for a woman to step in cause men are killing each other like animals,” she said.
Updated
at 8.43pm GMT
8.28pm GMT
20:28
Will someone think about the groundskeeper?
Can't stop thinking about the guy who's going to spend hours scraping adhesive off Susan B. Anthony's gravestone
8.14pm GMT8.14pm GMT
20:1420:14
Spotted in Arizona: Cindy McCain, wife of Republican Senator John McCain, sporting a white pantsuit to go vote.Spotted in Arizona: Cindy McCain, wife of Republican Senator John McCain, sporting a white pantsuit to go vote.
Cindy McCain wearing a white pantsuit to vote today https://t.co/bYShaUTKtF pic.twitter.com/Xg5BboC1CACindy McCain wearing a white pantsuit to vote today https://t.co/bYShaUTKtF pic.twitter.com/Xg5BboC1CA
Is Cindy wearing the unofficial color of suffragettes – and the unofficial uniform of Hillary Clinton – on purpose? Or is she going country club casual like it’s any old Tuesday?Is Cindy wearing the unofficial color of suffragettes – and the unofficial uniform of Hillary Clinton – on purpose? Or is she going country club casual like it’s any old Tuesday?
7.53pm GMT7.53pm GMT
19:5319:53
What would it take to break the Javits Center's glass ceiling?What would it take to break the Javits Center's glass ceiling?
Tonight, in a rather symbolic move, Hillary Clinton will be holding her election night party at the Javits Center in New York City, where she’ll make her speech from beneath its famous glass ceiling.Tonight, in a rather symbolic move, Hillary Clinton will be holding her election night party at the Javits Center in New York City, where she’ll make her speech from beneath its famous glass ceiling.
So what would it actually take to make a crack in it? We did some research and spoke to Nancy Czesak, the co-director on the Javits renovation project, to find out more about this iconic venue.So what would it actually take to make a crack in it? We did some research and spoke to Nancy Czesak, the co-director on the Javits renovation project, to find out more about this iconic venue.
– Nicole Puglise
UpdatedUpdated
at 8.00pm GMT at 8.26pm GMT
7.42pm GMT7.42pm GMT
19:4219:42
A good contender for “best dressed in white” in front of a polling station in Dallas, Texas.A good contender for “best dressed in white” in front of a polling station in Dallas, Texas.
7.28pm GMT7.28pm GMT
19:2819:28
Nicole PugliseNicole Puglise
#DedicateYourVoteToAWoman#DedicateYourVoteToAWoman
In another sign as to the significance of this election to women, many are using the hashtag #DedicateYourVoteToAWoman to talk about the influential women in their lives who motivated them to vote. Similarly, WNYC radio host Brian Lehrer asked Twitter users to share who inspired them to vote using #DedicateTheVote.In another sign as to the significance of this election to women, many are using the hashtag #DedicateYourVoteToAWoman to talk about the influential women in their lives who motivated them to vote. Similarly, WNYC radio host Brian Lehrer asked Twitter users to share who inspired them to vote using #DedicateTheVote.
For my grandmother, who was born in a town she couldn't vote in and never did until her move up north. #dedicateyourvotetoawoman pic.twitter.com/XxFziyfQOrFor my grandmother, who was born in a town she couldn't vote in and never did until her move up north. #dedicateyourvotetoawoman pic.twitter.com/XxFziyfQOr
"I #DedicateTheVote to all the suffragettes who worked hard to make sure we got a vote." pic.twitter.com/iqNjbJa7HY"I #DedicateTheVote to all the suffragettes who worked hard to make sure we got a vote." pic.twitter.com/iqNjbJa7HY
My vote is 4 my Gma's. 1 born b4 suffrage who wouldve been so excited for a 🚺 prez & 1 who voted for Hillary at 89 #DedicateYourVoteToAWoman pic.twitter.com/uk7z5e1BtdMy vote is 4 my Gma's. 1 born b4 suffrage who wouldve been so excited for a 🚺 prez & 1 who voted for Hillary at 89 #DedicateYourVoteToAWoman pic.twitter.com/uk7z5e1Btd
My vote is for my late grandmother, Shirley Chisholm, Ida B. Wells, and Zora Neale Hurston. My patron saints. #DedicateYourVoteToAWomanMy vote is for my late grandmother, Shirley Chisholm, Ida B. Wells, and Zora Neale Hurston. My patron saints. #DedicateYourVoteToAWoman
UpdatedUpdated
at 7.57pm GMTat 7.57pm GMT
7.27pm GMT7.27pm GMT
19:2719:27
Surprise, surprise: the staff of Jezebel has revealed who they’re voting for (and you’ll never guess the result).Surprise, surprise: the staff of Jezebel has revealed who they’re voting for (and you’ll never guess the result).
(Slightly more diverse results on the staff of Slate, if you’re interested).(Slightly more diverse results on the staff of Slate, if you’re interested).
7.19pm GMT7.19pm GMT
19:1919:19
Another suffragette appreciation post from (Guardian writer) S E Smith:Another suffragette appreciation post from (Guardian writer) S E Smith:
Don't forget badass disabled suffragettes like Helen Keller & Rosa May Billinghurst. Billinghurst used her wheelchair as battering ram, FYI.Don't forget badass disabled suffragettes like Helen Keller & Rosa May Billinghurst. Billinghurst used her wheelchair as battering ram, FYI.
A little more about Billinghurst here, courtesy of historian Sheila Hanlon:A little more about Billinghurst here, courtesy of historian Sheila Hanlon:
She organised events and meetings, took part in demonstrations, was a regular in processions, and served as secretary of the Greenwich branch. Without the use of her legs, she relied on an invalid tricycle for the mobility she needed to be a full participant in the suffrage action. Her invalid tricycle was, for the time, a high tech wheelchair modeled on a tricycle and propelled by hand controls.She organised events and meetings, took part in demonstrations, was a regular in processions, and served as secretary of the Greenwich branch. Without the use of her legs, she relied on an invalid tricycle for the mobility she needed to be a full participant in the suffrage action. Her invalid tricycle was, for the time, a high tech wheelchair modeled on a tricycle and propelled by hand controls.
Billinghurst was a regular participant in the WSPU’s public processions. She attracted public attention by appearing dressed in white and wheeling along with her machine decked out in coloured WSPU ribbons and “Votes for Women” banners. Billinghurst rose to prominence as a recognizable public figure and became known as “the cripple suffragette.”Billinghurst was a regular participant in the WSPU’s public processions. She attracted public attention by appearing dressed in white and wheeling along with her machine decked out in coloured WSPU ribbons and “Votes for Women” banners. Billinghurst rose to prominence as a recognizable public figure and became known as “the cripple suffragette.”
6.56pm GMT6.56pm GMT
18:5618:56
Ivanka for president?Ivanka for president?
Hillary Clinton may or may not become the first female president of the United States, but others are already eyeing 2020 and beyond. Katrina Jorgensen writes about why she could be convinced to vote for the other Trump – Ivanka.Hillary Clinton may or may not become the first female president of the United States, but others are already eyeing 2020 and beyond. Katrina Jorgensen writes about why she could be convinced to vote for the other Trump – Ivanka.
Ivanka in particular has all her father’s “pros” and almost none of his incredibly off-putting cons. She has balanced motherhood with owning her own company. She has been successful in practically every area of business, including her work as an author, all while keeping a certain amount of traditional femininity that Republicans still praise. She came into the political spotlight as an outsider but has proven she has plenty of acumen on the campaign trail, at the same level or even beyond that of her father. She has access to the Trump family’s self-funding resources. She would even have Donald Trump himself at her disposal as a fiercely loyal supporter unafraid to speak his mind on camera.Ivanka in particular has all her father’s “pros” and almost none of his incredibly off-putting cons. She has balanced motherhood with owning her own company. She has been successful in practically every area of business, including her work as an author, all while keeping a certain amount of traditional femininity that Republicans still praise. She came into the political spotlight as an outsider but has proven she has plenty of acumen on the campaign trail, at the same level or even beyond that of her father. She has access to the Trump family’s self-funding resources. She would even have Donald Trump himself at her disposal as a fiercely loyal supporter unafraid to speak his mind on camera.
UpdatedUpdated
at 6.57pm GMTat 6.57pm GMT
6.52pm GMT6.52pm GMT
18:5218:52
When you’ve always been told that a woman can’t be president...When you’ve always been told that a woman can’t be president...
We’re seeing many folks who voted for Clinton say they want their daughters to understand that they can be anything – even president. Throughout this election, lots of women have recalled a time when they thought being president was a man’s job. We’ve pasted a few of them below. One of our favorites: “In 3rd grade a boy told me a woman can’t be president because she would turn all the Walgreens into nail salons”.We’re seeing many folks who voted for Clinton say they want their daughters to understand that they can be anything – even president. Throughout this election, lots of women have recalled a time when they thought being president was a man’s job. We’ve pasted a few of them below. One of our favorites: “In 3rd grade a boy told me a woman can’t be president because she would turn all the Walgreens into nail salons”.
UpdatedUpdated
at 7.02pm GMTat 7.02pm GMT
6.47pm GMT
18:47
Over in our opinion section, contributors weigh in on today’s vote.
Novelist Barbara Kingslover remembers the first time she had a fight with her own father about whether a woman could ever be president – she was 11:
My father was a country physician, admired and rewarded for work he loved. In my primordial search for a life coach, he was the natural choice.
I probably started by asking him if girls could go to college, have jobs, be doctors, tentatively working my way up the ladder. His answers grew more equivocal until finally we faced off, Dad saying, “No” and me saying, “But why not?” A female president would be dangerous. His reasons vaguely referenced menstruation and emotional instability, innate female attraction to maternity and aversion to power, and a general implied ickyness that was beneath polite conversation.
I ended that evening curled in bed with my fingernails digging into my palms and a silent howl tearing through me that lasted hours and left me numb. The next day I saw life at a remove, as if my skull had been jarred. What changed for me was not a dashing of specific hopes, but an understanding of what my father – the person whose respect I craved – really saw when he looked at me. I was tainted. I would grow up to be a lesser person, confined to an obliquely shameful life.
Read her entire op-ed here.
6.40pm GMT
18:40
In the comments, rustyschwinn points out that Nancy Pelosi, the only woman to have served as the House Speaker and the highest-ranking female politician in American history (so far), deserves some recognition today. “A pretty thick glass ceiling to break through” is right, rusty.
I think Nancy Pelosi deserves at least a nod here.
The most powerful elected politician in government (next to the President or more so than the President in some estimations) as Speaker of the House, and the first (and only) woman to hold that office. During which she was, as speakers are, 2nd in line in the Presidential succession.
That was a pretty thick glass ceiling to break through in its own right.
Overall this makes her the highest ranked woman in US politics ever - until tomorrow?
Updated
at 6.49pm GMT
6.33pm GMT
18:33
Some women are wearing white, and others are wearing pantsuits to the polls. Jerry Emmett, a 102 year old woman from Arizona, wore both - in style:
AP reports: Emmett remembers seeing her mother go to vote for the first time after the 19th amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote was ratified in August 1920. The retired educator says she’s been waiting her whole life to cast her ballot for a woman and has been eager to vote for Clinton, who would be the nation’s first female president.
As the oldest delegate in Arizona, Emmett helped cast a ballot to nominate Hillary Clinton for president at the DNC convention:
Updated
at 6.38pm GMT
6.15pm GMT
18:15
Guardian reporter Rory Caroll is interviewing voters in Arizona – and talked to a family where the Trump/Clinton divide is intergenerational.
Latina Mom voting Clinton, daughter Trump. 'Between a liar and take our chance I figure take a chance.' pic.twitter.com/zuLKr7zVSN
6.12pm GMT
18:12
'You can’t throw away an opportunity to be listened to' Esther Diamond, born before women had the right to vote
Arwa Mahdawi
Esther Diamond doesn’t like people who don’t vote. “Voting is a privilege,” she reminds me, as we sit in her apartment in Queens, New York. “People have died for it. You can’t throw away an opportunity to be listened to.”
Diamond knows what that feels like. She was born in January 1920, months before the final state ratified the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. Now, the 96-year-old, who immigrated to America from Russia as a child, is looking forward to voting for a woman herself. “I’ve hoped for a long time that this day would come,” she says.
Diamond is just one of many women born before the 19th Amendment profiled on the website iwaited96years.com: different women from different backgrounds sharing the same excitement about this historic moment. In a lifetime they’ve gone from being disenfranchised because of their sex to casting a vote for, potentially, the first female President of the United States.
There’s Eugenia Perkins, 102, in North Carolina: “It is about time there was a woman President!”
There’s Lung Hsin Wu, 98, in Oregon, by way of Beijing: “My vote means another step towards equity for women!”
And there’s Diamond, who says: “Since as long as I can remember…I don’t want to be better than men. I want to be equal to them. You’re a second-class citizen if you’re not.”
Women’s rights have progressed a lot in Diamond’s lifetime, but there’s still a way to go. “When you hear the difference in salaries between men and woman for the same job and the men get more than you do…” she shakes her head. “Maybe Hillary can help.”
Diamond has been doing as much campaigning as she can for Clinton. When her assisted living facility had early voting a couple of weeks ago she got a placard of Hillary made up “sat 50 feet away from the voting booth” doing last minute electioneering.
Diamond thinks the final result will be close. But whether Clinton wins or not, “she’s opened the door for future women to think about running and that’s important. I’m sure there will be others, maybe not in my lifetime. You just need one person to try the water. Maybe my great granddaughter will be President.”
Updated
at 6.27pm GMT
5.58pm GMT
17:58
In another move to honor suffragettes today, some women are wearing white as they head to the polls, and posting their photos with the hashtag #WearWhite and #WearWhiteToVote.
White is one of the official colors of the women’s movement, and suffragettes were encouraged to attend marches wearing it in the early 1900s. In what was widely seen as a nod to it, Clinton herself wore white while accepting the Democratic Nomination.
Not everyone is as keen to celebrate this legacy. Some women argue that wearing white today is a choice rooted in racism (for more on this topic, The Toast also published an arresting collection of racist quotes by suffragettes).
The remarkable and sometime uncomfortable history of the suffragette movement is one worth delving into if you have time. This piece by Mone Fields-White explores the relationship between the suffragette movement and racism in America:
Throughout much of the 1800s, the women’s alcohol temperance movement was a powerful force in the greater push toward women’s suffrage. Meanwhile, many suffrage leaders — such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton — had also championed black equality. Yet in 1870, the suffragists found themselves on opposing ends of the equal-rights battle when Congress passed the 15th Amendment, enabling black men to vote (at least, in theory) — and not women. That measure engendered resentment among some white suffragists, especially in the South.
5.26pm GMT
17:26
Hillary Clinton may be the most popular candidate among women, but not all of them are supportive of her. Guardian reporter Paul Lewis talked to women in Nevada – a swing state – who were, at best, ambivalent about her track record and her candidacy.
At a luncheon held by Republican women, one interviewee said: “I would never vote for a woman like that just because she would be the first woman president”. Others were more torn, however. One said: “I’ll vote straight Republican. But I don’t have to like it at all”.
Watch the video for more.
4.58pm GMT
16:58
Meanwhile, in New Jersey, a giant 16x46 foot crochet work was unveiled over a highway – right outside the Holland tunnel. The piece was crafted by Polish-American artist Olek and 38 volunteers. The New Yorker reports:
A lot of artists had at one point been doing pro-Bernie art, and a lot since were doing anti-Trump art, but there simply had not been much pro-Hillary art,” [Olek] said. At first, the notion of making an overtly political piece did not sit well with her. But with one month to go, she changed her mind. “I couldn’t turn my back,” she told me. “There was too much at stake.”
No matter which side of the political fence you’re sitting, there is something oddly satisfying in watching the work being unrolled:
4.50pm GMT
16:50
Nicole Puglise
After casting their vote on election day, hundreds of women waited in line to affix their “I Voted” stickers to the gravestone of famous suffragette Susan B Anthony in Rochester, New York.
According to a live video by local news station WROC, Anthony’s headstone was almost completely covered in stickers by 12pm. Only her name could be seen as visitors posed for photos at the grave.
Anthony, who died 14 years before the 19th amendment was ratified, was a prominent force in the movement to get women the right to vote and was once arrested and fined for voting illegally.
The pilgrimage to Anthony’s grave is an election day tradition. The Mayor of Rochester, Lovely Warren, told the Associated Press that the visit to the gravesite was a “rite of passage” and that it was appropriate to keep the cemetery open later as Hillary Clinton was the first female presidential nominee of a major political party.
As The New York Times reported, a similar tribute has formed for prominent suffragists Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Carrie Chapman Catt, Mary Garrett Hay and Alva Vanderbilt Belmont at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.
Susan B. Anthony's grave gets all the "I Voted" stickers. At Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, Elizabeth Cady Stanton's grave is a bit lonely. pic.twitter.com/1L28WCQJwj
Updated
at 6.02pm GMT
4.08pm GMT
16:08
Welcome to The Glass Ceiling Watch blog
Today marks the first time in the 240 year history of the United States that voters will have the power to elect a woman as their president. When voters make their choice, they will also close out an election in which women have been at the center of almost every conversation.
Hillary Clinton’s candidacy and the unprecedented election in which she has competed have inspired almost every reaction on the spectrum: jubilation, relief, apathy, disdain, misogyny, and outrage. Today on this blog, we’re going to capture a slice of how American women are reacting as Clinton attempts to make history.
And we want you to join in.
Whether you’re an octogenarian who’s waited her whole life to cast this vote, or someone who doesn’t really see what the big deal is, we want to hear from you. Tweet us @GuardianUS and let us know what it means to you that America might elect its first female president today. And if you want more coverage, follow our main election live blog here.
Updated
at 4.53pm GMT