On Tuesday April 26th, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump played a divisive hand.  While speaking to supporters about Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, Trump said, ‘You know the only thing she’s got is the woman card.’  He also told supporters that it was ‘a weak card in her hands.’  His statement has left many individuals wondering what exactly a woman card is.  Is the woman card the thought that Hillary Clinton is receiving votes solely because of her gender?  Is it Clinton focusing mainly on issues that concern women’s rights?

The same night, Clinton replied that, ‘If fighting for women’s health care and paid family leave and equal pay is playing the woman card, then deal me in.’

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Hillary Clinton photographed by Annie Leibovitz 

Despite the negative association Trump attempted to create by accusing Clinton of playing the woman card, David A. Graham of The Atlantic said that the phrase was ‘easily turned around into a positive.'  Clinton has already utilized this statement for positive results for her campaign.  In her online store, she's selling a deck of ‘woman cards.’  The cards have phrases such as ‘Only 5% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women’ with images of Clinton and other influential women.  Graham also stated that Trump’s words 'won’t sit well with women who are paid less in the workplace, have to fight harder for promotions, and are still badly underrepresented  in the top tier of business and politics.'

The woman card has quickly become a symbol for women in all fields of industry, including politics and business.  The idea of women uniting to work toward equality is a wonderful thing created by a seemingly negative phrase.  The woman card movement could create astounding change.   

If Hillary Clinton can use the woman card to her advantage, shouldn’t young professional women also use the woman card?  For some young women in professional environments, playing the woman card is necessary.  Women choosing to utilize their woman cards may be the difference between a future of inequality and a future of equal pay and rights for women and men.  Women can play the woman card by working together to create unity within the workplace.  They can play the woman card by standing up for themselves in their workplaces and they can play the woman card by working hard to achieve their goals.

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Women choosing to use their woman cards may be the difference between a future of inequality and a future of equal pay and rights for women and men.

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Women uniting for a common good in the workplace will bring about powerful, positive change.  Change that, when supported and sustained by equal rights advocates and political leaders, could reverberate and empower women around the world.

 

Caroline Taheri is an incoming sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  She hopes to study medicine and is particularly interested in psychology, biology, and policy.  In her free time she enjoys spending time with friends, watching Netflix, and scrolling through Pinterest.

 

Comments (1)

  1. sana kanvinde

In third world countries like India, there are benefits and drawbacks of playing the 'woman card' and I believe it depends on how you use it; eve though it can be seen as manipulative as some

 
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