In the elections, voters in America had the opportunity to break through the highest barrier in American politics, by electing Kamala Harris as the first president. Instead, they decided to return Donald Trump to the White House, who won significant - even somewhat greater - support among women.
On Wednesday morning, some American women lamented the missed opportunity to send a woman to the Oval Office and wondered if it would ever happen.
"I'm just stunned. Disappointed in the American people for not electing a qualified woman to the presidency again," Pres Brady-Davis, a transgender African-American woman who won a two-year term on the Chicago-area water board, told The Associated Press.
Women who supported Trump — among them Katherine Mickelson, a 20-year-old college student from Sioux Falls, South Dakota — said the race was ultimately decided by principles and issues like the economy, not gender. Harris herself did not emphasize the issue of gender during her campaign.
"A lot of women, myself included, would love to have a female president, but we're not going to just blindly vote for someone just because she's a woman," Mikelson said.
Despite the historic potential of her campaign, Harris failed to increase the support that President Joe Biden had among women in 2020 to cement victory, according to an AP exit poll of more than 120 voters worldwide.
53 percent of women supported the Democratic candidate, compared to 46 percent who voted for Trump. That's slightly less than the lead Biden had in 2020.
The possibility of electing the first female president did not motivate voters much. Only about 10 percent said the fact that Harris would be the first female president was the most important factor in deciding who they would vote for, while about a quarter said it was important, but not the most important.
Dennis Martin from Georgia is a pessimist.
"I feel like most Americans are still not ready for a woman. They're short-sighted," Martin said, adding that this includes some women.
Women were more willing than men to say that the election of the first female president was at least one factor when voting, the exit poll showed, although very few said it was the main reason, while 40 percent said it was not a factor.
Black women were particularly motivated by the possibility of electing the first female president - about a third stated that this was the most important factor.
Maya Davis believes that Harris' identity as a black and South Asian American "absolutely" played a role in her defeat.
Davis, a 27-year-old African-American attorney from North Carolina, says she constantly has to prove herself.
"Unfortunately, I don't think there was anything she could have done differently. Maybe not be a woman," Davis said.
Women who supported the 78-year-old Trump - who campaigned on masculinity, used misogynistic language and told women he would protect them "whether they wanted it or not" - say they thought his rhetoric may have been regrettable or exaggerated. but less worrisome than fears about the economy, immigration and abortion.
Chrissy Banner of Grenville, South Carolina, said of Trump that he is "promoting women" and that the future is "much brighter" for them because of the Republican candidate's victory.
"It's working a lot for us," says Banner, 56, arguing that all women will benefit from Trump's tough immigration policies and stance on banning transgender people from competing in women's sports.
Virginia King, a 19-year-old from Dallas, says that "it's probably not ideal that Trump openly says what he thinks and does," but that's no reason not to support him.
However, some women fear the former president's rhetoric and that during his second term, women's rights could be further threatened, two years after the Supreme Court - with the help of judges appointed by Trump - abolished the right to abortion at the federal level.
"Women are going to be left without protection if you don't protect the basic issue of democracy," says retired Pennsylvania teacher Mary Ellen Brown. Brown says she wore black on Wednesday and fears her family is losing faith in the country.
After Harris entered the presidential race in July, Trump often called her "stupid or lazy," while his running mate, JD Vance, at one point called the US vice president "garbage."
That rhetoric did not worry nurse Nina Kristina from North Carolina, who voted for Trump because she was more concerned about how she would feed her children.
"Daily life shouldn't be this difficult," Kristina pointed out and added that Harris already had a chance to improve the economic situation.
In Minneapolis, 90-year-old Audrey Wesley - who can't count how many presidential elections she's voted in - said she hoped a Harris victory would lead to greater party cooperation.
"I can't believe that a man who broke the law so much could run for president," Wesley said, alluding to the former president's numerous legal problems, including accusations of sexual assault.
"Our system isn't working," Wesley concluded.
Only a small number of voters said the indictments against Trump were a big factor in their vote, according to an AP exit poll. Only a quarter of Trump supporters said legal cases against Trump were an important factor, while 80 percent of Harris supporters said they were.
The election has divided some families, such as the Bertino family of New Jersey. Di Bertino voted for Harris and her husband Bob for Trump because the economy, immigration and other issues were more important to him than abortion rights, which he also supports.
"I truly believe that our democracy is facing the greatest threat," said Di Bertino.
Elizabeth Herbert, a retired teacher from North Carolina, thinks Trump is a strong leader and a family man. She would like to see the first female president, but believes that Harris is not "the right woman for the position."
Some women were too shocked by Kamala Harris' defeat to speak to the AP.
"I need some time," wrote one of them. Others stated that they force themselves to simply move on.
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