Last week, the United States Congress saw its most diverse in history. At the 116th congress, a record 102 women were sworn in, all of different ethnicities and backgrounds.
One woman stood out in particular, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Ocasio-Cortez is not only the youngest women ever elected to Congress, she has been making important waves in the political realm for years.
And her official swearing-in ceremony at Capitol Hill yesterday was no exception.
The 29-year-old, originally from the Bronx, took the opportunity to pay homage to both Suffragettes and her own heritage.
Making a statement, Ocasio-Cortez donned an all-white suit, a nod to the suffragettes who first fought for women’s right to vote.
Taking to Twitter following her swearing in, the congresswoman wrote: “I wore all-white today to honour the women who paved the path before me, and for all the women yet to come. From suffragettes to Shirley Chisholm, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the mothers of the movement,” she wrote.
Along with her suffragette white, Ocasio-Cortez wore her signature red lipstick along with large hoop earrings.
Later, she confirmed these small details were for her fellow Bronx girls, including Sonia Sotomayor, the Supreme Court justice who was once told to wear neutral-coloured nail polish for her confirmation hearing.
Here’s to the new wave of women getting the job done – their way.
