Díaz: Women's March against Trump is already too late

When throngs of women and their allies take to the streets in Washington D.C., on Saturday, it will be too late.

By then, Donald Trump will have been sworn in as the nation’s 45th president and the “swamp” won’t be drained at all. Instead, it will be filled with folks whose disdain for women and minority rights couldn’t be sharper.

The Women’s March is both inspiring and ironic.

Their call for equal pay, health care, abortion rights and other women’s rights has inspired upwards of 200,000 people to show up at the nation's Capitol. But it’s also ironic that as USA Today reported, 54 percent of white women voted in November for Trump.

Why march if they didn't vote?

Some of us still can’t fathom the idea of women voting for a guy who bragged about sexual assault and who frequently demeaned women with such epithets as pigs.

Presumably, some of the women who backed Trump did it for reasons other than gender.

But where were the rest when Democrat Hillary Clinton needed them? Where were they when the polling places opened in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, key states that propelled Trump to the presidency?

MORE: Predictions that women wouldn't support Trump proved untrue

Most of the women I talked to in Arizona during the campaign – from Millennials to Baby Boomers – balked at supporting Clinton because she’s a woman. Many – especially minorities – did support Clinton, and just as their white counterparts presumably did so based on her qualifications, not gender.

That's how it should be. But why the disdain then and the march now?

The narrative has been one of disdain of Clinton over gender equality. How dare would anyone suggest gender was still very much ingrained in the nation’s conscience when it comes to choosing a national leader?

Admit it: Gender inequality lives

We’re beyond that, many said.

Are we?

I find it ironic that the Women’s March is the one inspiring many others to take to the streets during Trump’s inauguration.

I find it ironic that these women didn’t inspire many more to support Clinton, the person most qualified to lead the country and protect the rights they’re now taking to the streets to protect.

MY TURN: Young women don't see the sexism Hillary Clinton is facing

Are we, as women, ready to concede that gender inequality still is the norm?

We’ve made progress, yes. And we have Clinton and Fortune 500 executives to prove it.

But we’re destined to keep breaking through ceilings – just like Clinton did by becoming the first female presidential nominee of a major party – only to fall short if we don’t openly, honestly and unapologetically embrace our role in this nation.

Elvia Díaz is an editorial columnist for The Republic and azcentral. Reach her at 602-444-8606 or elvia.diaz@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter, @elviadiaz1.

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