As I stood Tuesday night in the packed Grand Hyatt in New York City with other staff members, interns, and supporters of Hillary Rodham Clinton, a roar of approval and cheers sounded when the official announcement came that the First Lady had won the election to become the first woman to serve as a senator from New York.

But I wasn't cheering just as a staff member because I had worked for the campaign this summer for three months and the week before the election. It went deeper than that. I was cheering because I was witnessing another woman assuming her "place" in the Senate.

The election of Hillary Rodham Clinton as the first First Lady to run for and subsequently win a political office signaled another breakthrough for women, just as the election of three other women to the Senate did on Tuesday.

Everytime a woman is elected to political office, it is a giant step forward for women. It is a step toward making all issues women's issues. It is a step toward having Congress reflect the demographics of America, where women outnumber men. It is a step toward electing a woman president or vice president of the U.S. Although resistance still exists surrounding the idea of women holding political office, strides have been made.

To understand how far we have come, think about this: of the 27 women who have served in the Senate, before 1992, only 15 had reached the office through election. The others, beginning with Rebecca Felton in 1922, were appointed to the seat after their husband died or appointed to fill a vacancy of a dead senator.

I left Mrs. Clinton's victory celebration filled with optimism. It was inspirational and moving to see the look in her eyes and the elation she surely felt as after years of watching her husband run for office, she was assuming her rightful place in the political world as New York's senator. It seems to me that slowly, with every woman who is elected to the Senate, the "Old Boys Club" that has been the Senate will be forced to change. This election cycle bring the total of women in the Senate to 12.

As women, we need to continue to do our part to support women candidates who we believe in. What better way could there be to ensure that our interests are represented than to elect one of our own — one who understands our needs as mothers, sisters, working women, and housewives?

Rebecca Felton, the first woman to serve in the Senate would have been proud Tuesday night of all the women who were elected to office. She promised her male colleagues that more women would follow her and she was right. She said, "When the women of the country come in and sit with you, though there may be but a very few in the next few years, I pledge to you that you will get the ability, you will get integrity of purpose, you will get exalted patriotism, and you will get unstinted usefulness."

Her words ring true as all the women serving in the Senate and those elected Tuesday continue to demonstrate strong leadership.

A clear message has been sent to the men of the Senate to open up the doors and let women assume their rightful place.

• A woman's place