Kamala Harris’s hidden barrier

Her rise and fall illustrates the Glass Cliff.

Harris in September. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty)

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Black women have long had to navigate being twice as good to get half the amount of credit. Kamala Harris’s presidential run was evidence of this. 

Despite the stark difference in the tenor of each candidate’s campaign and the the quality of their policy proposals, many still questioned whether they could trust Harris's leadership and opted for her opponent. Ultimately, an overwhelming majority of white voters voted Republican. 

National exit polls showed that for white voters, their choice was largely a product educational attainment. Fifty-seven percent of college-educated white women voted for Harris, while 63 percent of non-college white women voted for Donald Trump. For white men, regardless of educational level, a majority voted for Trump. Contrast that with the 77 percent of Black men and 91 percent of Black women who voted for Kamala Harris. 

The majority of the Black electorate, regardless of educational level, voted for Harris. But it wasn’t enough. The outcome reminded me of the Glass Cliff and the double standards for Black leaders that come along with it.  

In my own experience as a Black woman studying economics and policy at Harvard, I’ve seen how leadership roles for women of color, especially Black women, come with a unique set of risks and pressures, especially when taken on during challenging times.

For instance, early this year, Claudine Gay, the former president of my university, resigned after just six months on the job amid a concerted effort by right-wing culture-warriors to force her out. Gay was more than qualified for her job, but she wasn’t given the benefit of the doubt when she was accused of plagiarism and her tenure as the first Black person to lead Harvard ended up being the shortest in history.

The right's war on higher ed won't stop with Claudine Gay

The Glass Cliff refers to situations where women from marginalized groups are promoted into leadership during times of crisis and/or when the risk of failure is high. For example, back in 2021, Yogananda Pittman became the first Black person and first woman to lead the Capitol Police as it faced criticism for its handling of January 6. Minorities and women getting promotions often face impossible circumstances. And if they succeed, the person who gave them the opportunity gets credit.

When Biden dropped out of the race in July, he left Kamala Harris with a challenge that no modern presidential candidate has faced. Biden was losing in the polls, Democrats were divided over his presidency and refusal to get out of the race earlier, and Harris had to compete against a man who not only had been running for president for years, but is also a seasoned purveyor of racism and sexism.

While pundits have busied themselves over the past 10 days nitpicking Harris’s campaign, one thing is abundantly clear: She was held to the highest standards of leadership while Trump was held to no standard at all. Where Harris was pressed to present concrete, detailed policy stances, Trump skated by with crude bigotry and mere “concepts of plans”. 

In interviews with mainstream media outlets, Harris was asked to fact-check Trump’s lies — lies that Trump himself was often allowed to repeat without interruption. For Harris, as a woman — and specifically, a Black woman — a double standard was apparent throughout the campaign. If she smiled too widely or laughed too hard, people called her unserious. If she stumbled over her words, they said she was unprepared. If she came prepared, she was robotic or serving word salads. Even now, people are saying her policies lacked “working class” appeal despite the fact that housing assistance, healthcare coverage, and debt forgiveness spoke to the heart of the affordability crisis. There is no winning in the court of bigotry.

What we witnessed with Kamala Harris's rise and fall on the biggest political stage happens every day to women across this country. Women know we can be the most prepared and the most qualified person in the room, only to be constantly questioned and doubted. LeanIn.org and McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace report finds that women of color are more likely than men of all races and white women to be questioned in their area of expertise, mistaken for someone at a lower level, and interrupted or spoken over at work.

All of this raises the question: Is there anything Kamala Harris could have done to win over voters? We’ll never know for sure, but it’s important to keep in mind how clear the contrast between the candidates was and what America opted for.

Harris is as qualified as a presidential candidate could be and ran a strong campaign under difficult circumstances. That she still fell short in the eyes of voters is a reminder of the unique challenges women leaders face — especially women of color.

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