Martin Luther King Jr. was an inspirational man who stood up to decades of bigotry for the civil rights movement. People across the country joined him in that spirited movement for racial equality. They followed him, respected him and made him a leader because he promoted progressive, democratic ideals. He succeeded because he didn’t just fight for a few policies – he stood and died for an issue bigger than himself.That same support should be brewing right now. The two Democratic frontrunners are making history because neither of them is a white man.Once again, there is a bigger issue at stake than Americans are conscious of. We, the voters, have the power to vote a woman into the White House, ultimately shattering the heritable glass ceiling that has encaged women throughout U.S. history.Women’s hardships in the workplace are too often overlooked by male ignorance. Whether men understand the imbalance of treatment – it’s there. Women, on average, receive around 77 cents for every dollar a man makes, are less likely to attain a job promotion and more likely to be harassed. Sexual harassment in the workplace wasn’t even recognized by law until the mid ’70s.The more a woman tries to climb the corporate ladder, the more wounds she obtains from bumping her head on the glass ceiling. There can’t be progress in women’s rights unless a different step is taken to produce a dramatic change.Presidency is that necessary transcendent step. What greater milestone could there be for an American woman to overcome?Multiple campaigns have said that Americans should vote a particular candidate into office because he’ll implement change. The truth is that we have the chance to make a historic change simply by voting for a woman president.Hillary Clinton’s presidency would improve social standing, workplace opportunity, confidence and self-respect among American women.If Clinton is elected president, it wouldn’t only be a triumph for her – it would be a triumph for all American women.It’s shameful that it took women so long for one to get this far in her political career. It’s been almost 90 years since the 19th Amendment was ratified, and only a handful of women have been influential enough to gain sufficient publicity to throw their hat in the ring. But all their stories have the same unsuccessful ending.I will never forget how I cried tears of happiness last year when Nancy Pelosi became the first woman speaker of the House. I finally felt progress. I finally felt an encouraging change in direction. A woman is third in line in the U.S. government. So close, yet still so far.My fellow ladies, isn’t it inspirational to know you could look back on this election and know that you voted for the first U.S. woman president? Even the realization that there could be a “First Gentleman” should make you smile.Knowing a female presidential candidate is as close as Clinton – this is how it feels for a country to obtain progress. This is what happens when all Americans become equal. And every woman should be passionate about escalating women’s rights.Feminism comes in many forms, and so does activism. To show support for progression, you don’t need to join a feminist organization, you don’t need to hold up signs, you don’t need to subscribe to feminist newsletters – all you need to do is vote for the only woman who has a chance. She has an outstanding chance.All women should demand equality in their lifetime and for the women who follow. To obtain change, we must act and elect Clinton as our next president.We climbed our way up and now we must vote for the candidate who has the tools to break the glass ceiling.

-Amanda Strouse is a journalism senior.

-This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec. Send e-mail to letters@thedailyaztec.com. Anonymous letters will not be printed – include your full name, major and year in school.