Hillary Clinton's devastating loss spells heartbreak for women everywhere

Hillary Rodham Clinton fell painfully short of a historic win in the U.S. presidential election, leaving supporters bereft as their hopes of a woman in the White House were dashed by Donald J. Trump. How did the most experienced and qualified presidential candidate in generations lose to a real estate magnate and reality television star whose understanding of policy seems marginal at best?

SEE ALSO: Hillary Clinton has a message for Pantsuit Nation

Clinton, a lifelong champion for women, children and families, had inspired voters who hoped to usher not just a woman into the White House, but a woman who would push for progressive, female-friendly policies. But Trump’s groundswell of support, particularly from non-college educated white voters, was too much for Clinton to overcome.

"This is painful and it will be for a long time," an emotional Clinton said in her concession speech Wednesday morning.

Hillary Clinton: "This loss hurts but please never stop believing that fighting for what's right is worth it." pic.twitter.com/K4FaFnbnl9

— Mashable (@mashable) November 9, 2016

"This is not the outcome we wanted or we worked so hard for and I'm sorry that we did not win this election for the values we share and the vision we hold for our country."

Clinton, who called to congratulate Trump, dismissed the notion that her campaign was about one person or one election: "It was about the country we love and about building an America that's hopeful, inclusive and big-hearted."

That message lost to Trump's simple rallying cry: Make America great again. To his supporters, the slogan acknowledged their anger and disappointment while still promising a better future, one in which jobs would return from overseas, the country’s borders would close to outsiders and good ol’ fashioned law and order would triumph.

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To many ears, however, the slogan recalled an America of days gone by, days when women and minorities were subjected to systemic discrimination. The implicit racism and xenophobia in Trump’s message made a Clinton win that much more important to feminists and progressives determined to prevent a cultural backslide.

Sexism — and not just the blatant pussy-grabbing kind, but the subtle, insidious kind — played an undeniable role Trump’s popularity. Clinton had to be twice as good to be taken half as seriously. While Trump never mastered the most basic points of foreign affairs and constitutional law, Clinton dug into the details of policy.

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Trump, however, painted Clinton as corrupt and untrustworthy, and those charges played into old sexist stereotypes of powerful women. He portrayed her experience as first lady, senator and secretary of state as a liability, not an accomplishment.

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Voters clearly agreed. They embraced Trump’s outsider message despite evidence that he lied about his charitable work and business success. They didn’t care that he found ways to avoid paying taxes or that he expressed admiration for dictators. He admitted to sexual assault on a hot mic, but apparently that was no big deal. His slogan was catchy. His tweets, electrifying.

Clinton’s stunning defeat is a catastrophic loss for women who were poised and ready to fight for a progressive agenda, one that Clinton promised to deliver. Tim Kaine, her vice presidential running mate, made that theme central to his concession remarks.

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"We know she would have made history as a president in one sense, but we’ve never had a president who’s made their whole career about the empowerment of families and children," he said. "I was as excited about that in the Oval Office as I was excited to have my friend Hillary there and make history as the first woman president."

Clinton proposed capping childcare costs, providing paid family and medical leave to care for a new child or a seriously ill family member, closing the wage gap and repealing the Hyde Amendment, which bans federal funding of abortion care for nearly all low-income women.

Those plans are all but lost now. It’s hard to imagine a Trump-Pence agenda that doesn’t amount to an all-out assault on the issues progressive women hold dear, especially with Republicans having maintained control of the House and Senate. Trump has pledged to repeal the Affordable Care Act and appoint a conservative Supreme Court justice who would vote to overturn the constitutional right to abortion.

Hillary Clinton supporters watch the election results at her rally in New York City on Nov. 8, 2016. Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

His vice president-elect Mike Pence, the former governor of Indiana, signed a bill requiring a proper burial of all fetal remains, even if a woman experiences a miscarriage. Trump toyed with punishing women for having an abortion, a position he dropped after public outcry. Congress is likely to pursue defunding Planned Parenthood with unprecedented vigor.

Trump’s victory also means a jarring end to President Barack Obama’s inclusive style of governance. There is little chance that Trump will maintain any of Obama’s executive orders or his administration's rulings, which have given critical protection to vulnerable groups such as transgender students and people employed by federal contractors. Instead, Trump has promised to deport all of the nation’s estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants and ban Muslims from entering the country.

Hillary Clinton: "To all the little girl whose are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful." pic.twitter.com/KsDu3hXjt8

— Mashable (@mashable) November 9, 2016

The most palpable loss on Tuesday night, however, was the sensation of history slipping through America’s fingers. For members of Pantsuit Nation who were certain that the night would end with the first female president in U.S. history, Clinton’s defeat is heartbreaking. The glass ceiling we wanted so badly to shatter remains intact after 240 years. History will have to wait.

Clinton, with her trademark resiliency, tried to soften that blow.

"Now I know we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling," she said, "but some day, someone will, and hopefully sooner than we might think right now."

UPDATE: Nov. 9, 2016, 9:20 a.m. PST This story was updated to include remarks from Clinton's concession speech.