The Week In Review: July 21, 2026

A More Perfect Union

Yesterday marked the anniversary of the opening of the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, the gathering that launched the American women’s rights movement.

I’ve never considered myself a feminist. Perhaps that’s because so many of the people who shaped my life and career have been both women and men. I’ve always preferred to believe that ability, character and hard work are what matter.

Lately, though, as America comes under greater scrutiny from around the world and I hear younger generations questioning democracy and capitalism, I find myself thinking less about what our country lacks and more about what it has made possible.

I am incredibly fortunate to have been born a woman in the United States.

Around the world, billions of women face legal barriers to owning property, obtaining credit, pursuing certain careers or receiving equal treatment under the law. In many countries, girls can still be married as children!

America has never been perfect. We’ve seen profound failures and terrible injustices. But we also have something precious: the ability to expose wrongdoing, debate it openly and demand accountability. That process is often messy, but it is one of our nation’s greatest strengths.

Real estate has afforded me extraordinary opportunity. Like any industry, there are moments when I’m reminded that old assumptions die hard. I try to just smile, go back to work and let results speak for themselves.

When I entered this business, I partnered with Marc Fleisher, then the top agent in our region. He saw ability, drive and integrity, not gender. He was hardly alone. Throughout my life, remarkable men have opened doors, offered opportunities and judged me by my work. I found that on Capitol Hill, in the legal industry and every day in my biggest cheerleader, my husband.

As I reflect on Seneca Falls, I find myself grateful for the women whose courage expanded opportunities for future generations. I am equally grateful for the men who believed those opportunities should exist in the first place and helped make them real.

And above all, I am grateful to live in a country that, while imperfect, has continually challenged itself to become a more perfect union.