- If elected, Kamala Harris would be the first female president of the United States.
- Her presidency could have a far-reaching impact on businesswomen in leadership positions.
- It could normalize women's leadership and encourage better representation, analysts say.
If Vice President Kamala Harris ascends to the Oval Office, it could have a rippling impact on women in business everywhere.
Only two weeks into her presidential campaign, Harris has garnered overwhelming support from Democrats and narrowed former President Donald Trump's lead in swing states.
It's reminiscent of the hopes many women held in 2016 when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton faced off against Trump. If it happens this time, it could usher in a new age for women in positions of power.
"Having a woman as president, I think, normalizes what women's leadership looks like across everything, whether that's the private sector, public sector, education, labor, business, military," Cynthia Richie Terrell, executive director of Represent Women, which advocates for women in politics, told Business Insider. "I think a lot becomes possible overnight."
In the business world, companies with female CEOs outperform those led by men, according to the World Economic Forum. The same is true for women-led hedge funds and women-led startups.
Despite that success, women now run just 10% of Fortune 500 companies, a record-high that has remained the same since 2023.
"Those companies where women had a higher share in the board and in leadership were more likely to be profitable, and I think there's a clear connection to women in government," Richie Terrell said. "Women tend to bring those same skills, the ability to multitask, the ability to build networks, the ability to listen, which we hear a lot of times that women have a greater ability to do that."
Jennifer Jeronimo, the CEO of Gaingels, a venture capital firm that prioritizes investing in companies with diverse leadership, told BI that "visibility and representation are crucial."
"One reason I believe women receive only 2% of venture capital funding is that over 80% of VC funds lack women in decision-making roles," Jeronimo said. "A woman president, one of the world's most powerful roles, could normalize women in positions of power in certain industries and lead to more female decision-makers in venture capital. Additionally, after Kamala Harris's endorsement by Biden, women rallied to raise millions overnight for her campaign, proving their willingness to fund what matters to them."
While it's early in her campaign but less than 100 days from the election, Harris will likely appeal to women more than the Trump-Vance ticket. Among women, Harris is polling nearly 15 percentage points higher than Trump, according to a recent poll from The New York Times and Siena College.
Her favorability is paying off by the millions. The Harris campaign announced it raised $310 million in July, 60% of which were donations from women, the Associated Press reported.
Meanwhile, Trump has a history of alienating women, and his VP pick in JD Vance hasn't helped matters. His past comments disparaging "childless cat ladies" have come back to haunt him.