One bright spot for glass ceilings: The first Somali-American legislator

(Image credit: STEPHEN MATUREN/AFP/Getty Images)

published 9 November 2016

Democrat Ilhan Omar became the first Somali-American Muslim elected to Congress Tuesday night after winning her state House race in Minnesota. Omar, 34, a survivor of the Somali civil war and a refugee, immigrated to the U.S. with her family when she was 12 years old. Though this is her first elected office, Omar, who wears a hijab, is also the director of policy at Women Organizing Women Network.

"[Omar's victory] says something about the future of Minnesota, and what it means to be a Minnesotan," Minnesota House Minority Leader Paul Thissen told the Star Tribune.

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Now, the newly minted legislator sets her sights on helping women entrepreneurs, criminal justice reform, and clean air and water policy.

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Lauren Hansen produces The Weekâ€™s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.