Women Can Run Every House - Except the Whitehouse? | Part2

The plight of the woman in America is writhing 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 Philippines) and Megawati Sukarnoputri (former Indonesian President) are just 2 of many examples of progressive countries selecting leaders 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 lifelong government communicator, about the recent election and its impact on women of color - this is what she had to say.

Armin Jorge-Gomez

" we must maintain the transparency and authenticity of our stories."

Women of Color: A Mosaic of Storytelling

Over centuries, women’s voices have filtered through the cracks of patriarchal walls built to keep us unseen and unheard (except when convenient to male desires). In many cultures around the world, women gathered around cooking fires, along rivers washing clothes, and beside birthing beds to share their stories and 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 felt natural to be drawn to the visual arts and find a way to express my individuality, which I knew rebelled against societal norms. Many Asian women in journalism and politics inspired me: 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 that I would eventually land in a profession that let me meld my two passions (multi-media production and public service) by working in Public Communications in Local Government.

For women, especially women of color, to hold positions that not only create content but also control information conduits, we must maintain the transparency and authenticity of our stories. However, the progress we’ve made is quickly becoming endangered as social media platforms consolidate under rich, powerful men. Elon Musk's direct influence in the recent election has raised alarms in many democratic nations. To protect our diverse communities and the marginalized people within them, we need women collaborating at every level of communication and technology. Whether through grassroots or innovative forms of connection, women have always harnessed 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 Jorge-Gomez

Communications | Multimedia | Storytelling | Production | Management | Marketing

You can follow Armin on LinkedIn by clicking here.