She Did, You Can, and You Will.

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A glass ceiling for women has been shattered with Kamala Harris becoming the first female Vice President in United States history. She also has broken racial barriers as the first Black person and first South Asian American elected to the second highest office in the country. As a non-partisan organization, NCGS does not promote or endorse political party platforms or candidates, but we recognize this historic moment for women as one that far surpasses partisan politics. As a Coalition, we are united in elevating women’s leadership worldwide and believe true leadership can only be achieved when diverse voices and gender and racial equity are included and valued at the table. The U.S., for the first time in its history, is joining other countries like New Zealand, Iceland, Germany, and Taiwan in electing a female leader to the highest levels of government.

Girls’ schools exist to educate girls and young women to imagine limitless possibilities and to achieve their fullest, most authentic selves. Girls’ schools send to girls each and every day the incredibly important message that there is nothing that can stand in their way. Young women at girls’ schools are not just simply told, however, that they are capable of anything. They actually occupy every role in a girls’ school—every seat in student government, every spot in the robotics club, every position on the athletic field—and they see each and every one of their peers doing the same.

Girls need role models to help them become their best selves. The election of Kamala Harris to the second highest office in the U.S. government provides girls and young women the critical and powerful opportunity “to see it in order to be it.” Research finds girls report increased political engagement when female candidates run for high-profile offices. Positive female role models are essential for girls to grow into confident women, especially as they choose university majors and career paths that are needed in today’s world.

As Kamala Harris has said, “While I may be the first woman in this office, I won’t be the last. Because every little girl watching…sees that this is a country of possibilities. And to the children of our country, regardless of your gender… Dream with ambition, lead with conviction, and see yourself in a way that others might not see you, simply because they’ve never seen it before.”

Research shows girls’ schools graduate globally minded changemakers. We see this in action with a disproportionate number of girls’ school alumnae serving in all levels of government in the U.S. Nearly one out of every eight women currently serving in the U.S. Congress attended a girls’ school: an impressive statistic when you consider girls’ school students account for less than 1% (estimated 151,000+) of the female student population in the U.S.

What is the one thing the following leaders have in common?

  • Former Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice
  • Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
  • Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
  • Senator Shelly Moore Capito
  • Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi
  • Representative Ann Wagner
  • Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett
  • Former Governor of New Jersey Christine Todd Whitman
  • Mayor of Seattle Jenny Durkan

They all attended girls’ schools. And the very first woman to run on a major party ticket as U.S. Vice President? That was Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, a girls’ school alumna.

So today we recognize this historic first for women. This is a moment to say to all girls and young women: she did, you can, and you will.


Megan Murphy, Executive Director, National Coalition of Girls’ Schools