When Sarah Hamilton was in high school, Hillary Clinton was running for president, and it made a big impression. Her candidacy made Ms. Hamilton want to become a leader someday too, she said, and maybe even run for office.
Four years later, Ms. Hamilton, 21, is no longer interested in leadership. Even though it felt exciting to see Kamala Harris become vice president, she said, the sexism she thought that Ms. Harris and the other female candidates faced was too much. Ms. Hamilton, a graphic designer in San Francisco, would rather help people in a more personal way, like mentoring.
“Before Donald Trump won, I had in my head being a woman doesn’t really matter,” she said. “I think it’s really damaging. All of those women have shown you can rise above that stuff, and you can be in those positions and succeed. But I think for a lot of little girls and people like me, they see that and think, ‘If that’s what it takes to achieve that position, I don’t think it’s worth it.’”
