Since the creation of America, women have suffered as second-class citizens, as they did not originally have equal rights with men. Feminism has benefited women in America; while its original purpose was to strive for equal rights for women under the law, today, it focuses on more social issues. Feminism gave women the right to vote, right to divorce, access to education, and right to choose to have an abortion, if necessary. One issue that is very important when it comes to American feminism today is the Me Too movement and the Times Up movement. 

The Me Too movement was created in 2006 by a young woman named Tanara Burke and many other young women to raise awareness for their experiences with sexual assault and harrasment from a powerful male figure in Hollywood. Since then, many victims have bravely come forward against their abusers in order to receive justice. One example is women who worked with and for who came forward against the current formal New York governor, Andrew Cuomo of that time. People who sexually harass people should not be allowed to remain in office, and should be prosecuted appropriately. Now, Kate Hochul has replaced him, and she is the first female governor of New York. 

In my opinion, I think that Hochul’s election is a step in the right direction towards gender equality; however, I am very disappointed that women make up such a small percentage of the political world. Although women gained the right to vote a little over 100 years ago in 1920, today, many barriers still exist for women in the political world, especially for women of color. I hope that Kate Hochul sympathizes with the victims of Andrew Cuomo, understanding that a culture of normalized sexual harassment exists in the political world and striving to change it. Making stricter laws addressing sexual harassment and appropiate versus inappropriate interactions would make victims feel more comfortable stepping forward about their experiences with people who make them uncomfortable, seeking justice. I also hope that people understand that electing a female government official does not necessarily mean that gender equality has been gained: a lot of progress is still needed, even in the United States, to establish gender equality.