Cup runs over with Hillary’s success

Women agree ‘there’s lots of work to do.’

I’ve been waiting for this moment since early June when she greeted that jubilant crowd inside the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Hillary Clinton had just reached a milestone, becoming the first woman in our nation to win a major party’s nomination for president.

“Tonight it really is not about one person,” she told the crowd. “It belongs to generations of women and men who struggled and sacrificed and made this moment possible.”

I was proud then but last night when I watched delegates at the Democratic National Convention confirm her nomination, that was something truly special.

It was as first lady Michelle Obama said: “Because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters — and all our sons and daughters — now take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States.”

Who would’ve thought just eight years after electing a black man president, a woman would become the Democratic Party’s standard-bearer.

I think I will remember that moment the way I remember the moment Barack Obama was elected president. My cup ran over. It was the same way for many other metro Atlanta

women who heard the glass ceiling shatter and who see Hillary’s win as a win for all women.

“It’s time,” said Dot Blum, a Smyrna grandmother and co-founder of Say-So, a conversational salon. “Other countries have done it and those women did and do a great job.” She’s right, you know. Not only does Hillary’s nomination come nearly a century after the U.S. Constitution guaranteed a woman’s right to vote, it happens as more than 60 countries already have elected female leaders.

Angela Merkel of Germany. Margaret Thatcher of Britain. Golda Meir of Israel.

The moment was hardly lost on Blum or Pamela Ware, a 52-year-old mother of two daughters from Atlanta.

She has long considered Clinton as the mother, wife, advocate and concerned citizen of the world that she is. And so in many ways, Ware said, the former secretary of state had to break the glass ceiling.

Elisabeth Marchant, who co-founded Atlanta Woman magazine and seven years ago founded Womenetics, a global platform supporting women’s leadership, believes we’re at a remarkable place in our country’s history.

Clinton’s confirmation as the Democratic nominee represents the hopes of millions of people, she said. That includes hope for gender balance, hope for the disenfranchised, and hope that businesses will recognize, support, develop and incorporate women’s leadership as a natural part of operating.

“For the past 15 years, I have been focused on women’s leadership and the value proposition for business today and business of the future,” Marchant said. “Corporate profits increase when women are at the top. Companies that recognize and incorporate sound initiatives for women to succeed will be the most innovative and attractive workplaces of the future. This is a business imperative and Secretary Clinton understands that.”

But let’s be clear. This is not just about being a woman.

Hillary Clinton is clearly qualified to run this country.

As 73-year-old Blum so astutely pointed out, she has devoted her life to serving others. She is a lawyer, wife of a former governor and former president. She was a U.S. senator and secretary of state.

She feels compassion for those less fortunate and works to improve all lives, is tenacious, hardworking, smart, strong, and does not engage in name calling.

She understands politics on every level, locally, regionally, nationally and globally, as well as the need to build consensus. She understands she cannot dictate policy and must work to find common ground. She knows how to work with leaders of foreign countries and understands the cultural differences and etiquette.

She is loyal. She has had one husband, and one marriage, which is remarkable in this day and age. She understands that marriage is not always one big fun experience and every relationship has its trials, but it’s about commitment.

Hillary’s background is one of inclusion not exclusion. She supports freedom of religion, women, LGBT people, military, children, and people of different cultural backgrounds.

She just happens to be a woman.

Marchant agrees. So does Ware.

“I say let’s get this election over with so that we can move beyond talking about the ‘first woman president of the United States’ and begin paving the way for others,” Marchant said. “We still have a lot of work to do.”

Gracie Bonds Staples