In Philadelphia, Many women across the nation saw a representation of the composed. A self-assured leader they hoped to be as they watched House Speaker Nancy Pelosi take the initiative. To control an unruly Congress over the years or confront an aggressive president.
Pelosi stood out in rooms full of powerful men as tenacious, strategic, and demanding. All the while being a loving grandmother and mother at home. And she hardly ever felt the need to shout.
Gina Lind, 61, a marketing director for an airline from Phoenix, said, It always made me laugh to think of her emerging from the door wearing the red coat because it seemed to personify how fierce she has perfectly portrayed a woman in silent control.”
Many people shared the meme of Pelosi confidently leaving the Trump White House after a tense meeting after she announced this week that she would leave the Democratic leadership position she had held for 20 years. The incident served as a reminder of how Pelosi, the House’s first female speaker of the House, redefined preconceived notions about what women’s roles should be at the highest levels of government.
The photo of California Democrat Nancy Pelosi has been taped to refrigerators, downloaded as a screensaver, and imprinted on coffee mugs by her supporters. They also enjoy the pictures of her arguing with Donald Trump, president at the time, in the White House cabinet room or tearing up his final State of the Union address.
Kelly Haggerty, a 49-year-old construction project engineer for Syracuse, New York, said, “Okay, stand up and say what you have to say.” she frequently finds herself arguing in a room full of men like Pelosi does.
Haggerty, who praised the image, said, “I mean, these guys across the table from me are not the president of the United States, but it’s not fun to always be the only woman in the room.” Because I have two teenage girls and want them to be the same way, I did post it on my refrigerator. She declared, “I don’t want them to ever stand down.
Pelosi delayed officially beginning her career until she was in her late 40s and most of her five children had grown up, like many other women of her generation. But her father had worked in politics, first as Baltimore’s mayor and then as a member of Congress. And Pelosi recalled being amazed by the sight of the Capitol building when she was six years old in her leadership farewell speech from the House floor on Thursday.
Make no mistake, though; whether she was seeking office or not, Rep. Karen Bass, a fellow California Democrat who will soon take over as mayor of Los Angeles, said, “She’s been in politics since she was born.”
Pelosi, in her opinion, embraces her authority without “using it heavy-handedly.” She praises Pelosi for maintaining her composure during the turbulent Trump years.
She said, “I think she has perfected that. Women do lead differently, and they have to leverage their power in a way that is just different. Good luck to anyone who has to face her, though.
And according to some women, Pelosi, Clinton, and other female leaders are disliked by society because of their female tenacity and strength.
“People anticipate that we will always be polite. People can become quite emotional and angry about that if and when we don’t act in that specific “box,” according to 34-year-old Democrat state senator Sarah Elfreth of Maryland.
Elfreth said, “I think she received excessive criticism for carrying out the task in the same manner. Frequently better than men had carried out the task. She “clears the path for other women in elected office to be just as tough. Just as resilient” by doing this.
Younger generations have at least seen Pelosi and an increasing number of other women in Congress working alongside her, even if the nation hasn’t yet had a female president. Only 12 of the 535 members of Congress at the time Pelosi first entered the body had female colleagues. There are 147 women in the House and Senate this year, and the number of female governors is rising.
Cecilia Ritacco, a 22-year-old graduate student in government studies at Georgetown University, said, “I think we take for granted how that (Pelosi’s leadership) has transformed what it means to be a woman in power, perhaps what it means to be a woman executive. In years to come, we’ll be incredibly grateful to her for breaking that glass ceiling.