Women Can Run Every House - Except the Whitehouse? | Part 2

The plight of the woman in America is writhe with contradictions and ironies. If you research correctly you will quickly come across their contributions to humanity, and how they have endured against incredible odds. The 2024 election was an opportunity to perform a litmus test - on the complex reality of race, color and sex deeply seeded in the American psyche.

Great leaders like Corazon Aquino (former President of the Phiilipines) and Megawati Sukarnoputri (former Indonesian President), are just 2 of the many examples of progressive countries selecting a leader based on qualifications. America had an opportunity to elevate and fortify the promises made in our constitution, instead, the country selected a man who ran a campaign based on hate and division.

What does that say about the United States? What do we feel about women and women of color? The next few blog posts will ask this question to women of color who are communicators. I asked Armin Gomez, a life long Government communicator about the recent election and its impact on women of color - this is what she had to say.

Armin Gomez

"We have faced threats to our lives and the silencing of our humanity many times before and we can overcome them again..."

"Over centuries, women’s voices have filtered through the cracks of patriarchal walls built to keep us unseen and unheard (except when convenient to the male desires.) In many cultures around the world, women would gather around the cooking fires, along the rivers washing clothes and beside the birthing beds to share their stories and their wisdom. In time, as societies evolved and women gained more rights and freedom, the yoke of oppression slowly began to lift. However, racial discrimination remained, leaving women of color behind in the continued fight to dismantle the patriarchy and its deep roots in racism.

As a woman of Asian descent, stereotypes of the quiet and submissive ______ (fill in with any traditional female Asian trope) have permeated my environment, particularly in the media. It was a natural fit for me to be drawn to the visual arts and discover a way to express my individuality, which I was aware rebelled against societal norms. There were many Asian women in the journalism and political fields who served as my inspiration: Connie Chung (the first Asian woman to co-anchor a major news broadcast) and Corazon Aquino (the Philippines first female President) were trailblazers for those of us to follow. I didn’t find it surprising then that I would eventually land in a profession that allowed me to meld my two passions (multi-media production and public service) working in Public Communications in Local Government.

For women and especially, women of color to be in positions that not only create the content but also control the information conduits, it is imperative to maintain the transparency and authenticity of our stories. However, it is quickly becoming a danger to the progress we’ve made that social media platforms have been consolidated under rich and powerful men. Seeing the direct influence of Elon Musk in the recent election has raised the alarm in many democratic nations. If we are to protect our diverse communities and the marginalized people within them, we must have women collaborating at all levels of communication and technology. Whether it be through grass roots or innovative forms of connection, women have always been able to harness the power of information throughout history. We have faced threats to our lives and the silencing of our humanity many times before and we can overcome them again, with each thread of a story weaving together to form a tapestry. It is only strengthened by the richness and uniqueness of every memory, thought and idea we sew into the fabric."

Armin Gomez 

Communications & Multimedia Storyteller

You can follow Armin on LinkedIn by clicking here.