Women for president!

In Glamour's January issue, I found a hidden gem beneath an article about Eva Longoria's "mission" and sitting just above a blurb about "Guy of the Month," Orlando Bloom.

The headline immediately caught my eye: Is America Ready for a Female President? Answer? Hell yes. I already knew my answer, but of course I had to read on. The main graphic glaring back at me featured powerful women whom I've admired for years. Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Kristin Gillibrand, Elizabeth Warren and my personal favorite, Condoleezza Rice.

I breathed in the faint smell of a Dior perfume ad placed in the front of the magazine as I read the words, "Millions of Americans simply cannot accept the idea of a woman president."

Side Note: I felt guilty taking a second to divert my attention from the article, to flip to the perfume ad and lift the scented tab to smell it. I felt like the sexist people who disagree with this article were watching me, shaking their heads. Is that messed up or what?

 Political analyst Jeff Greenfield  wrote that very statement in Glamour almost 40 years ago, and now as the 2016 election creeps up, he's ready to readdress it.

It's been nine years since Hillary ran for president. It's been nine years since she was described as a "probable" and "imminent"candidate. It's been said her loss might have a result of bad tactics or strategy. But it can't be ignored that the upset may have been due to the inevitable sexism women face on a daily basis. Despite losing, it was still a step in the right direction. Maybe the world just wasn't ready for a strong, confident, high-heeled woman to be standing in the Oval office.

But according to a Pew poll in May, a full 71 percent of voters said gender would make no difference, and 19 percent said they'd be more likely to vote for a woman. Times are a changin'!

 A lot has happened in the nine years. There was a record number of women nominated at the Emmys for directing, Yahoo hired Katie Couric as a global anchor and GoDaddy refused to create sexist Superbowl ads. These feats may seem small to some, but to a women attempting to enter the workforce, they mean the world. Those were just a couple of examples of women breaking down the gender barriers, but it proves we have made progress.

Unfortunately, we still have a long way to go. Proof? Currently, women's earnings are 78.3 percent compared to man. If that's enough to make your blood boil, then I don't know what is. That statistic makes me laugh. I sit in classes and work with both men and women each day, and knowing my male friends will end up making more money than me ... it kills me.

But Greenfield does a beautiful job of showing how women have taken the world by storm –– specifically in the political stomping grounds. He explains how in 2015, for the first time ever, more than 100 women will serve in Congress. Over the past four decades, 22 states have elected female governors. He agrees with me about women being able to overcome inequality hurtles, but not yet crossing the finish line. He just whips out statistics and information that proves we're well on our way to making history.

With a deep, diverse pool of possible women candidates, we have a chance to take the presidency by storm. I believe we're ready. I'm excited that I've reached an age where I like talking politics. I actually enjoy reading about what's going on, who's running, who stands for what, who spoke about what issue and where. I'm thrilled to hopefully be able to say I voted for the first woman president (depending on which candidates run!).  I'm confident that sometime, maybe not in 2016, we will be seeing a woman president.

#womanpower