We’re a week away from the end of the 2024 election, and none of us know who will win the ultimate prize: the presidency. And yet, there is one thing we know for sure, and that is that there is a giant the gender gap in this election between women who overwhelmingly support Vice President Harris and men who overwhelmingly support Trump. Regardless of who wins, women will either reap the benefits of pro-women policies or feel the repercussions of regressive ones on January 20, 2025.

It reminds me of my school days in the 1970s and how we split into teams, ‘boys vs girls’ for kickball and lined up on either side of the chalk line, taunting each other about who was the superior gender . , boys or girls.

Here we are 24 years into the 21st century, and for only the second time in American history, a woman is nominated for the presidency of the Democratic Party and is running against a man who a huge deficit with women voters on issues of reproductive freedom, pay equity, and basic rights for women and caregivers when it comes to managing that elusive work-life balance that we as women navigate every day.

Simply put: the election will have far-reaching consequences for the women of America and the next generation of American women and girls more than anything we’ve seen in three decades or more. This year’s election is bringing the gender gap to the fore in a way we haven’t seen since Secretary Hillary Clinton was nominated. This time, the woman running is considered the incumbent, being the sitting Vice President of the United States.

Harris could become the first female president of the United States and made it clear that reproductive freedom, caregiving issues, home ownership, small business loans and capital investment will become the focus of executive attention in an unprecedented way. . Women voters seem to agree, as recent polls in battleground states like Michigan report a big increase in women’s early voting beyond 2020. We’ll soon see which gender has more voting power in America on November 5th. 2024.

But what does all this mean for professional women, business owners, college students, and young women entering the workforce in the next decade?

This is the question we must begin to address as women leaders in higher education, in the C-Suite, as corporate and academic DEI officers, college campus leaders, and the like. Because no matter who wins, women will be front and center on the policy agenda at the federal level.

Here’s what we know to be a fact. Former President Trump has made it clear that he is against it, so to speak “awakening” and “DEI”. It was a major theme and rallying cry of the 2024 election. Many corporations fear retaliation from the red state attorneys general who are suing them for the violation Supreme Court 2023 speaking out against the use of affirmative action, they immediately began ending their diversity and inclusion programs, cutting budgets and eliminating positions.

And universities that have struggled with the balance between free speech and protecting the rights of all its students, fear of a second Trump term. Harris from her side it is pro DEI policys pay equity for womenand reproductive freedom. It is the central core of her campaign, including expanding Medicare to help cover expenses for caregivers of aging parents or family. As we well know, women are the overwhelming majority of caregivers in America. And having to care for a sick parent or spouse, which means you have to quit your job or take on an extra job to help offset the exorbitant costs of long-term medical care or of the elderly in America 2024.

The second political impact for women is around immigration. Trump wants implement a mass deportation of undocumented immigrants who are already here and going after IF recipients. And Harris is looking to expand DACA and find a way to create a path to citizenship for those immigrants and workers already in the United States.

These are just a few policy differences the two candidates have, but copdegrace of course, it’s reproductive freedom and women’s health and well-being. This is where women will feel the greatest impact in their lives as mothers, sisters, friends, co-workers and employers. Having to take time off from work for IVF, childcare, nursing or managing an unexpected pregnancy in the state with a total abortion ban will also have a serious impact on women who successfully climb the corporate ladder.

In short, ladies, the 2024 election looks set to be a political referendum on the future women want versus the one our grandmothers and mothers long thought they left behind.