What does women supporting women look like in 2025?

Our struggles are all connected.

During the four weeks following Donald Trump’s inauguration, we’re publishing a series of guest essays that speak to the key issues Diem stands for. First up: how women support other women.

But first, here’s what else people are talking about on Diem:

1. After a hysterectomy and having cervix removed, is sex more or less pleasurable and more or less painful?

2. How do you get over an ex that you have to see all the time

3. Has anyone had thrush in their mouth?

4. How can I stop letting it bother me when people don’t like me?

5. I need advice on introducing my boyfriend to my children

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Back in 2016, the first time Donald Trump was elected president, I worked in women’s media. After facing the loss of what we all thought would be our first female president, fresh off the heels of Trump’s “grab them by the pussy” comment, it felt like the most important thing in the world was to put “supporting women” at the forefront of our efforts. That meant uplifting their causes, profiling their efforts, and never, ever doing anything to discredit their work.

Looking back, this was extremely short-sighted. If anything, the lesson to be learned from that election was how complicit (white) women were in voting against the interests of the marginalized. “Women supporting women” became a shield used by these women and others to avoid any kind of criticism. We refused to acknowledge that even well-meaning women can make mistakes.

We’re now up against round two of a Trump administration, and if anything, mainstream hatred of women is even more overt: Mark Zuckerberg is calling for more “masculine” workspaces, and Project 2025 calls for the complete stripping of women’s reproductive rights. Yes, we need to support women now more than ever—but we can’t enact a repeat of what we did last time. This time, women supporting women looks different.