Jackson Free Press

It's 2016, a year that some would argue is historic in nature, as women around the country watch another woman heading a major political party's campaign for the White House.

But sexism is far from over, even within millennial circles, where being progressive is increasingly becoming the new norm.

A February 2016 National Institutes of Health study of college biology students found that male students over-estimated the knowledge of their male colleagues compared to their estimation of their female counterparts—despite the women performing better as the class continued. Women in that study did not show preference in their perception of colleagues. A 2014 Harris poll found that only 41 percent of millennial men are comfortable with women engineers, and 43 percent of those men are comfortable with women being U.S. senators.

What a time to be alive. The progress is not to be discounted, and Hillary Clinton's historic nomination certainly stands on the shoulders of women whose names have been long forgotten but whose efforts have not been lost on the many women who run their own businesses, households, or hold political office in the country and in this state.

In Mississippi, the progress is specific. Female-owned businesses have grown tremendously in the past couple decades. Mississippi is at the forefront of encouraging and developing female entrepreneurs. Jackson was even counted on WalletHub's list of the 100 best cities for opening a female-owned businesses.

But starting a business is different than holding office. Beyond business ownership, Mississippi drops out of the "progressive states for women" race due to the abysmal lack of representation in the statehouse and the inequity felt in employment and unemployment for women around the state.

Out of 174 Capitol spots, Mississippi has only 23 elected senators or representatives who are women. That's a little more than 13-percent representation for women in the statehouse, despite women making up 51 percent of the state's population. Representation matters—most importantly because lawmakers have the power to change the law and activate the state's purse strings.

More women in the statehouse means more women paying attention to policy issues, from maternity leave to equal pay to domestic violence, that affect those women who own and run their own businesses and head up their own households. Female policymakers can help women in workplaces throughout the state who make less than their male counterparts, using law to effect change.

While we celebrate and recognize the importance of those 23 women at the Capitol, we need more women in political positions of power and more voters who will put them there. As Republicans proved in the last legislative session, both a majority and a supermajority matter. Mississippians must put aside tradition and start to become comfortable with women both in management roles and in political office.

The old adage "power in numbers" holds true, and it's time for women to claim their place at the Mississippi political table. We're all better for it.