Is Kamala Harris a turning point?

KAMALA HARRIS, 55, was not a household name before Tuesday. But the presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee in the US election is well on her way to becoming one. And more.

If elected, Ms Harris could become the country’s first black vice president, its first Asian-American vice president and its first female vice president. Born in California, she is of Jamaican and Indian heritage.

The cynical might regard this as Joe Biden ticking boxes in his quest for the White House. But in the heat of the current moment, the symbolism of a Biden/Harris ticket cannot be dismissed.

The Harris candidacy sends a powerful and inspiring message all over the world. Should Mr Biden win and should he, for any reason, become unable to perform his duties, she could become president.

Should. Could. Might.

As we have seen time and time again, female politicians face hurdles and complications their male counterparts never even imagine.

How should a woman in power behave? What should she look like? People still talk about Hillary Clinton’s pantsuit, Angela Merkel’s “business-like” appearance, Theresa May’s shoes, Margaret Thatcher’s hair.

Even deeper than this, some women – and, in fact, anyone who crosses boundaries of identity politics – feel pressure to conform to establishment values. Those values tend to be the ones approved by the patriarchy. You almost get the sense that for some, merit means less than the ability to fly beneath the radar.

The truth is, the mere selection of a woman is no guarantee of change. Ask Ms Clinton, who, amid still unresolved and unsettling circumstances, never made it to the White House. Ask Julia Gillard, who had to quit in the middle of her tenure. Ask Ms May, who made way for Boris Johnson.

We need not even look overseas to understand the situation. TT has had female leadership in all of the major positions: prime minister, president, chief secretary, Speaker, Senate president and more. And yet on Monday women faced an uphill battle for parity in the election. Only one-third of the candidates were female. Even fewer won.

If the arc of history bends towards justice, it is bending rather slowly. To effect real change we need to do more than break the glass ceiling. We need to rebuild the house

Ms Harris’s candidacy shows us how far we have come, not just on gender.

Paradoxically, it also shows how much further we have to go. The fact that we have to comment on her background is proof. Perhaps one day we will arrive at a place where all that matters are a candidate’s qualifications for high office.

With so much in flux, could that day be upon us?