For the first time in United States history, a woman has been elected to the office of the vice president. Kamala Harris was announced Saturday as the vice president elect making history as the first woman and the first woman of color to ever hold an office that high in the United States government. 

Whether you voted for former Vice President Joe Biden or President Trump, there is no doubt that this win is a win for women everywhere.

The election of Harris is incredibly historic, and I believe will become a catalyst for a new era of government. 

As a young woman who has been interested in politics for a long time, the lack of women in office was always something that confused me. I was raised to believe a woman could do anything and be anything that she wanted, including a political official. I believe the election of a woman to a high office is long overdue. 

The importance of representation in a government that was created to represent the people is more evident now than ever in our era of social justice and equality. Electing politicians from all groups, not just white men is the step in the right direction in creating a better government for our current United States. 

This then begs the question of the competence of our politicians. 

We shouldn’t elect officials solely based on their gender or their race in an effort to increase representation. I would argue it’s more important to elect people with intelligence and experience, no matter what they look like. This election proved that after a long history of men in higher offices, women are just as qualified and just as intelligent as the male politicians we’ve seen in the past. 

Harris has proven that it is possible. Young girls and young women are now able to look to the White House and see a woman. That’s nothing if not inspirational. 

Women see that becoming vice president is possible; women see that being involved in our government is possible. Women see now more than ever that their voices are strong, they are heard and that we have the ability to change the world for the better. 

As Harris said in her acceptance speech,“I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last.” She’s continuing to open doors for young women to dream of what they could become. 

Harris may be the first, but I certainly believe she will not be the last but rather the catalyst in a long line of world changing women.