According to the Los Angeles Times, “Women historically have had a harder time winning executive office than legislative ones.”

However, this may change in the near future. It starts in small towns, much like Bowling Green.

Women are slowly starting to gain higher positions in both City Council and the student body government.

Since 1789, the U.S. has been running under the control of male figures. Since then, the world turned from a time when women had no voice in the public to a time when five women are running for the 2020 presidential election.

“There has never been more than two women competing at the same time in the Democratic or Republican primaries,” CNBC News reported.

Sandy Rowland took a position on Bowling Green’s City Council seven years ago. She was one of the first women to be elected onto City Council and have an at-large position.

“At first it was very difficult; I felt like no one listened to me, but as time went on, my voice was slowly being heard. It was very hard to have my voice in a roomful of men stand out,” Rowland said.

Since the U.S. has never had a female president, it may be hard at first for the public to gain trust. Even though there are five women running, they will need to do more than use their voice.

“The leadership styles will differ, but the women will have to navigate the double-bind that women tend to be more relational. In the position of president, the women will be held to more masculine qualities but at the same time portraying the feminine aspect,” said senior Hannah Cubberley, president of Undergraduate Student Government.

While campaigning for her position on campus Cubberley decided to step it up a notch. She reached out to different groups on campus, and instead of creating her own platform, she went out with student groups and learned what they wanted to see and shaped the campaign platform off that. She knew it would be harder for her as a woman, so she took a different turn to grab the appeal of the BGSU student body.

“We are moving toward a more representative body in our government, and having more women in politics shows where we are pushing our country to,” said Zachary Schmidt, a philosophy, politics, economics and law graduate. “By having more women and minorities involved with the government is moving the country in a more positive direction.”

With smaller cities, like Bowling Green, taking opportunities to make change, women will be in positions of power and have louder voices in the their communities and around the country.