2025 and Beyond: 15 Feminist Thought Leaders on Building a Better Future
2025 and Beyond: 15 Feminist Thought Leaders on Building a Better Future
PUBLISHED 12/12/2024 by Marianne Schnall
The 2024 presidential election season has ended, and Donald Trump will begin a second term as president of the United States in January. While many people looked forward to the possibility of electing Kamala Harris as our first woman and first Black and South Asian woman president, that is not our reality. With many issues in the balance, including but not limited to reproductive freedom, women’s rights, racial equality, LGBTQ+ rights, immigrant rights and environmental protections, we can find strength in each other.
This fall, in the weeks leading up to the election, I reached out to speak with a diverse group of influential thought leaders who shared their views and insights during this pivotal time for a series of articles and podcast episodes. Although my interviews with these leaders took place when we did not yet know if Vice President Kamala Harris would be sitting in the White House next year, their words still speak to the importance of supporting and cultivating women and diversity in leadership, as well as staying engaged on the issues we care about as we imagine the future we want for our country and the world. For all its disappointments, the election brought with it a few bright spots and small steps toward parity, including the election of another female governor, Kelly Ayotte, increasing the number of women governors to a record 13; Angela Alsobrooks and Lisa Blunt Rochester becoming the first two Black women to serve in the Senate at the same time; Sarah McBride becoming the first openly transgender woman to serve in Congress; and other incremental gains.
As we near the end of 2024 and look to 2025, let’s keep in mind the advice and wisdom from the leaders featured below, whose diverse perspectives serve as a helpful guide. In a world where it’s easy to lose heart in the hope of progress, let’s look to their inspiring words to remind us why we must keep working toward change.
Featuring: Ted Bunch, Glynda Carr, Jasmine Crockett, Anita Hill, Carol Jenkins, María Teresa Kumar, Barbara Lee, Kimberly Peeler-Allen, Nancy Pelosi, Ai-jen Poo, Reshma Saujani, Gloria Steinem, Mini Timmaraju, Erin Vilardi and Gretchen Whitmer.
We need to keep striving for diversity in leadership.
“The beauty is in the mix. You have to have diversity of opinion at the table, whether it’s men and women, people of color, young people, LGBTQ+—it’s absolutely essential. It’s what our founders had in mind. When they said, ‘E pluribus unum: from many, one,’ they couldn’t possibly imagine how many we would be or how different we would be from each other, but they knew we had to strive for unity, and for that unity we have to all be at the table.”
—Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Representative, former speaker of the House
We can never leave women and people of color out of the conversation.
“Up to now, we’ve been ignoring the talents of half the country. Now, I hope we’ve begun to learn that we have not been living in a democracy. Democracy is only realized when all adults are able to express our opinions and use our talents. Half this country is female, and half is composed of people of color. Until those exclusions are gone, we are not living in a true democracy. Whenever we see a decision-making body, it should represent the experience of the people who are affected by those decisions. That should be common sense, but from corporate boards to state legislatures, it’s still far from common.”
—Gloria Steinem, founding editor at Ms., author and activist
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https://msmagazine.com/2024/12/12/2025-feminists-quotes-wishes-new-year-election-trump-president/