Beyond the Blue Wave: The Women Who Run Things

Georgia made history. Women made a point.

Let’s give the blue wave its moment. But let’s also give the women their flowers—with the roots attached, because these victories took work.

On November 3, Georgia elected Keisha Lance Bottoms as its next governor, making her the first woman and first Black person elected to the office. Her victory also makes her the first Black woman elected governor of a U.S. state. That is history with a capital H, honey.

Bottoms defeated Republican Rick Jackson, returning Georgia’s governor’s office to Democrats after more than two decades of Republican control. The former Atlanta mayor brings experience on the Atlanta City Council and as a senior adviser to President Joe Biden. The résumé came with her. So did the family. Bottoms is a wife to Derek Bottoms and a mother of four—a woman whose life includes both public responsibility and personal commitment. A top-notch Woman in Charge, with more than one title to answer to.

And that brings us to a conversation overdue for a little honesty.

Women are expected to keep households functioning, stretch budgets, nurture relationships, anticipate problems and somehow remember everybody’s appointment. But when those same women seek authority beyond the front door, suddenly ambition becomes a character flaw.

We appreciate her strength when it serves everybody else. We question it when she uses it to lead.

The competence we depend on at home deserves respect in the boardroom, at the Capitol and in the governor’s office, too. Running a household and governing a state require different expertise, of course. But judgment, preparation, negotiation and accountability deserve recognition wherever women practice them.

And no woman should need a husband or children to qualify for that recognition.

Georgia’s milestone belongs to a larger story. According to Rutgers’ Center for American Women and Politics, at least 17 women will serve as governors in 2027—a record. Georgia, Minnesota and Tennessee elected their first women governors; Ohio elected a woman governor for the first time. Those breakthroughs crossed party lines.

There is room to celebrate that progress while keeping our standards high. Representation matters. So do healthcare, housing, education and whether elected leaders deliver for the people who trusted them.

Women deserve the opportunity to lead—and the fair, serious scrutiny that comes with it. We can applaud a historic victory and still expect results. That’s accountability, baby.

For Georgia’s girls, this election expands the picture of what leadership can look like. For the women who have spent years holding families and communities together, it offers a moment of recognition.

Our contributions have always been necessary. Our authority deserves to be taken seriously.

Who runs the world? Girls. Who deserves credit for the work? Women. Let’s get that part right, too.