Kellyanne Conway has been a target of feminist critics on the left for her work on President Donald Trump’s campaign. They ignore that she was the first women to lead a presidential campaign to victory and that she has found great success in the world of conservative politics. These accomplishments represent the kind of success for a woman that feminists should be excited about, and yet Conway is often scorned by the left.
Part of the reason they take issue with her may be that Conway does not see herself as a victim of circumstance. Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Conway said that in her kind of individual feminism, women have the freedom to make their own choices and that they are the product of these choices.
She thanks her mother for demonstrating this attitude throughout her childhood, and she credits that attitude for her outstanding career. Kellyanne speaks highly of how her mom raised her, with her aunt and grandmother, never complaining about their circumstance and working to make sure they had what they needed.
This attitude of hard work helped lead Conway to the success she has had in the political arena, success that comes from her choices, not because or despite being a woman.
“I worked so hard,” said Conway Thursday morning at CPAC, “but I was also given an opportunity.”
During her interview, Conway spoke highly of President Trump, praising him as a great boss and an engaging man to work with.
Speaking about the election, Conway says this was not an election about gender. Many women across the country did not vote for a candidate that shared their gender, but instead choose a candidate that shared their ideals, according to Conway. Forty-two percent of women voted Trump, according to Pew Research Center.
However, Conway comments that it is hard to be woman in the political arena and said it’s important that women do not undervalue themselves. She recalled an early speaking engagement with another speaker who happened to be male, and when asked what to she wanted to be paid, she replied, “I’ll have what he’s having.”
Conway also had a message for her daughters and daughters across America: “the job of first female president remains open.”