--- title: Election 2016: Hillary Clinton Fails to Break Glass Ceiling description: Her loss may be as good a sign as any that we’re not ready for glass breaking yet canonical: https://time.com/4564142/hillary-clinton-gender/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-09T14:15:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:57.519Z article:section: Politics og:title: Election 2016: Hillary Clinton Fails to Break Glass Ceiling og:description: Her loss may be as good a sign as any that we’re not ready for glass breaking yet og:url: https://time.com/4564142/hillary-clinton-gender/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt82e723e8b1492192/6988adac97cdff30276ae82a/election-kids-hillary-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: 2016 Election og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Election 2016: Hillary Clinton Fails to Break Glass Ceiling twitter:description: Her loss may be as good a sign as any that we’re not ready for glass breaking yet twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt82e723e8b1492192/6988adac97cdff30276ae82a/election-kids-hillary-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Hillary Clinton Collides Again With Highest Glass Ceiling > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=8c1fd7ca-9397-4b0f-abb9-6cc5d15e4672&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: How 2016 Turned Into a Battle of the Sexes [Watch (HLS stream): How 2016 Turned Into a Battle of the Sexes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/IQPiMq6t.m3u8) (2:56)  _Published 2016-11-03. The 2016 election is a referendum on what women can be--and what men can get away with_  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Nov 9, 2016 2:15 PM UTC  A boy holds a photo of Hillary Clinton during an election-night block party in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood, in the in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on Nov. 8, 2016 A boy holds a photo of Hillary Clinton during an election-night block party in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood, in the in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on Nov. 8, 2016 Mark Lennihan—AP  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Nov 9, 2016 2:15 PM UTC It turns out the glass ceiling is reinforced with steel beams. The glass-walled Javits Center in Manhattan, where Hillary Clinton had planned to give a victory speech Tuesday night under a transparent ceiling, turned instead to a scene of despair as Donald Trump won state after state and the crowd slowly realized that that highest, hardest ceiling would not break after all, not this time anyway. It’s impossible to know how much Clinton’s gender contributed to her loss. Trump’s victory seemed to be fueled by a supersurge of white voters from rural areas, motivated by economic anxiety with strong undertones of racial resentment. Yet the stench of sexism engulfed Clinton’s quixotic bid for the presidency, magnifying her flaws and minimizing her considerable strengths. It’s possible that a male candidate with Clinton’s political baggage would have been able to transcend his mistakes. It’s possible that a male candidate would not have faced the same scrutiny and suspicion, or have been held to the same impossible standards. It’s possible a male candidate would not have had such trouble connecting with voters. There’s simply no way to know, except to look at all the other male politicians with less accomplished résumés (Joe Biden and Barack Obama, for example) who faced fewer obstacles. We don’t know how Clinton’s gender affected her campaign, but we do know how Trump’s gender affected his: the fact that he has won the presidency despite numerous credible allegations of sexual harassment and assault has revealed what men can get away with in 21st century America. It turns out, men can get away with a whole lot: [61% of Trump voters said they disapproved of Trump](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/election-2016-national-exit-poll-results-analysis/story?id=43368675), and [7 in 10 were bothered by his treatment of women](http://www.wsj.com/articles/exit-polls-2016-voters-back-more-liberal-immigration-policy-oppose-border-wall-1478646147). But evidently, that was not enough to sway their vote, even among women. Other things — jobs, trade, “taking our country back” — were more important. Once again, the treatment of women has been downsized to a side issue. If Clinton had won, her gender would have defined her victory as a historic moment. But her gender is no less significant in defeat. If a Clinton victory would have signified that America is ready for a woman President, a defeat may be as good a sign as any that we’re not ready for glass-breaking yet. Inside the Javits Center, many Clinton supporters felt as if a historic moment had been snatched from their fingertips. Michael Zorek was there with his wife Shelly Friedland, his 14-year-old son Jeremy and 10-year-old daughter Diana, who wore a bow in her hair. “I feel like my future’s just down the drain,” said Diana, up far past her bedtime. “We’re gonna have to move, because we can’t live in a country with Trump as the leader.” Her father looked alarmed at this, and reassured Diana that the family had no plans to move. But he’s upset that his family’s discussions of the election have had to include “p-ssy grabbing,” and he’s alarmed that Trump’s treatment of women has gone excused for so long. “I was hoping I could stand here with my daughter and see the first female President elected,” he said. “It’s like you came to a party and now it’s a funeral.” Other supporters, including many who had dressed up for the occasion, appeared shell-shocked. Photographer Beatrice Moritz’s hands shook as she held a small American flag, her “Nasty Woman” button askew on her collar. “The Republicans will have all three branches of government,” she said. Elizabeth Silva, wearing an all-white outfit in honor of the Suffragettes, seemed nearly speechless. “I’ve been really excited for my whole life to see a woman President,” she said. “It’s sad that voters in some states would vote for someone who is the opposite of what I think America stands for.” “I really thought we were actually going to do it,” said Georgia Murray, who had supported Clinton since 2007 and was planning to celebrate victory with her sister. “I think the hidden vote is people who said they would vote for Hillary and didn’t.” Some women, who only hours earlier had been sure that the night would end in a historic victory for feminism, now doubt whether they will see a woman President anytime soon. Friedland hesitates when asked whether she’ll see a female Commander in Chief. She says she hopes so, but gestures to 10-year-old Diana and says, “It will happen in her lifetime for sure.” But Diana is already learning the bitter patience practiced by so many generations of women before her. “I’m confident that a woman will be President,” she says. “But not yet.” ## Transcript If 2016 was going to be a battle of the sexes, everyone thought Hillary Clinton would be the main combatant. But this year, Trump, not Clinton, has made this cycle the most gendered election in political history. These are just the greatest hits. After Megyn Kelly asked him this question at a primary debate, You call women you don't like fat pigs, dogs, slobs, And disgusting animals. You know you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her wherever. He's called Hillary Clinton disgusting for taking a bathroom break. Sorry. [ LAUGH ] Donald Trump said the following about you. Quote look at that face. Would anyone vote for that? He slammed GOP primary opponent Carly Fiorina for her appearance. And he's accused Clinton of playing the woman card. She's constantly playing the woman card. It's the only way she may get elected. On the other hand Clinton is emphasizing the historic nature of her gender more than she did in 2008. She gave her first speech as a presumptive nominee to Planned Parenthood, where she said the word abortion, Legal abortions. 16 times. By contrast, Barack Obama almost never says that word. Women should be allowed to make their own decisions about their own health. She frequently refers to herself as a grandmother and in her first appearance at the DNC, she had this message for the next generation of female leaders. If there are any little girls out there who stayed up late to watch Let me just say. I may become the first woman president but one of you is next. Still, Hillary Clinton is a presidential candidate who just happens to be a woman. Donald Trump is a man for whom the presidency is the ultimate validation of his masculinity. [ UNKNOWN ] And he referred to my hands. If they're small, something else must be small. I guarantee you there's no problem. I guarantee you. And his followers have taken their cues from the top. [ BLEEP ] Hillary. I still can't hear with this [ BLEEP ] in my ear. Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump. For other Trump supporters, this election is about jobs, trade, and the economy. I will be the greatest jobs president that god ever created. But those issues are linked to a massive social shift away from an economy Economy based on male breadwinners. I'll bring back our jobs from China, from Mexico- When Trump talks about jobs, he's talking about a specific kind of job. The manufacturing and industrial jobs that once allowed men to support family on a single income. In other words, the jobs that made men feel like men. As those industries have declined in Last three decades, others have grown. And the fastest growing industries education and health care are dominated by women. So the November election has turned into a referendum on gender, but it was Trump who justified on the battlefield. Which means that this November, American voters will be sending a message about how men are allowed to behave and what women are allowed to achieve. 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