Diversity: The Real Winner of the 2020 Presidential Election by Natalie Wong

Kamala Harris wore white to represent the purpose and mission of the suffragist movement from 100 years ago: to grant women the right to vote. Kamala Harris will soon be the second most powerful person of the United States: the first woman to be vice president, the first woman of color to be vice president (she is both Black and of South Asian descent) and the first daughter of immigrants to be vice president. “While I may be the first woman in this office,” Harris vowed, “I will not be the last.”

Photo Credit: The Associated Press

As a daughter of immigrants myself, I’m overcome with emotion witnessing Kamala Harris shattering the highest glass ceiling and representing the hopes and dreams of so many Americans—specifically for women, immigrants and people of color.

While Biden and Harris’ triumphant journey to Inauguration Day has been a dramatic one (for lack of a better word), we should acknowledge that the true winner of this election is diversity.

Joe Biden becomes only the first Catholic President since John F. Kennedy (himself the first, almost 50 years ago), and living up to his campaign promises, has created a cabinet that would be “the most diverse in history.” These appointments include:

• Janet Yellen, the first woman to be Secretary of the Treasury
• Lloyd Austin, the first Black American to be Secretary of Defense
• Alejandro Mayorkas, the first Latino and the first immigrant to lead the Department of Homeland Security
• Xavier Becerra, the first Latino to be Secretary of Health and Human Services
• Neera Tanden, the first woman of color and first South Asian person to lead the Office of Management and Budget
• Deb Haaland, the first Native American to run the Department of the Interior, and the first Native American Cabinet Secretary in U.S. history
• Pete Buttigieg, the first openly LGBTQ person to serve in the Cabinet as Secretary of Transportation
• Avril Haines, the first woman to be Director of National Intelligence

And we mustn’t forget the historic wins for the Democratic Party in Georgia during this month’s crucial run-off: Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff were elected the first Black and Jewish senators, respectively, to represent their state.

Other diverse candidates being elected include:

• Sarah McBride winning the state senate seat in Delaware to become the highest-ranking openly transgender official in US history
• Modaire Jones and Ritchie Torres winning Congressional seats in New York to become the first openly gay black members
• Mauree Turner winning in Oklahoma to become the country’s first non-binary state legislator, Oklahoma’s first Muslim legislator and her district’s first Black legislator
• Cori Bush winning in Missouri to become the first Black woman to win a House seat
• Zohran Mamdani and Jenifer Rajkumar winning house seats in New York’s state legislature to become the first South Asians to do so
• Adrian Tam defeating a leader of the Hawaii chapter of the Proud Boys to become the state’s only openly gay person in its legislature.

As an American, I’m inspired to see such diverse and inclusive representation in our highest levels of government, especially in light of the attack on the US Capitol weeks ago.

Along with my You Belong co-chairs, Tamera Love and Rhonda Moret, we will continue to ensure that all voices are being represented among our membership and to curate diverse and inclusive content and programming to help you both personally and professionally. Please reach out to any of us with questions or suggestions to enhance diversity and inclusion within MPISCC.

Natalie Wong is co-chair for the MPISCC You Belong Diversity & Inclusion Committee.

January is a month of many celebrations and commemorations including: World Braille Day (January 4), Makar Sankranti (January 14), a major harvest festival celebrated in various parts of India; Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January 18); Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27).

MPISCC had the unique opportunity to have a fireside chat with Meena Harris, who is a commissioner on the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women, Head of Strategy & Leadership at Uber and the niece of Vice President Kamala Harris, during WeCon 2020. Tune in to this inspiring conversation HERE.