Washington, DC–In reaction to former Vice President Joe Biden announcing Senator Kamala Harris to be his running mate, Emerge President A’shanti F. Gholar released the following statement:
“We applaud Vice President Joe Biden on picking Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate. This is a historic choice that shows how serious Vice President Biden and his administration will be in having women and Black, brown and Indigenous people in important decision-making roles,” said A’shanti F. Gholar, President of Emerge. “Senator Harris has been a longtime supporter of Emerge. Her story of rising from city district attorney to California Attorney General to U.S. Senator and now potentially being the next Vice President of the United States, is the story of Emerge. She is a role model for every woman who seeks to serve and make a change in her community.
“We cannot stop here. It’s critical that women are at the table throughout the government, and we look forward to Vice President Biden’s team continuing to select women, particularly women of color, for key leadership and cabinet positions.”
According to the Center for American Women in Politics, only 53 women have served in 60 cabinet-level appointments since 1933. The Obama Administration had the most concurrently serving women appointees with eight or 35% of the positions. Women comprise 51% of the population.
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