Clinton, McGinty losses highlight glass ceilings in Pa.

Instead of celebrating the nation's first woman president and the state's first female U.S. senator, women across Pennsylvania on Wednesday were reeling from losses by Hillary Clinton and Katie McGinty.

In addition, none of the five women running for U.S. House seats in the state - four Democrats and a Republican - claimed victory, meaning the state will continue to have no women in Congress.

"It's heartbreaking," said Philadelphia City Councilwoman Helen Gym, a Democrat. "The fact of the matter is Pennsylvania remains an all-male delegation. That's the reality that we're living in right now, and those of us that think it should look a lot different need to do a lot more to figure out how that's going to change."

Dissecting how and why those glass ceilings remain intact will be an exercise that lasts days, if not months.

There were clues on Election Day. Despite the significance of the election, women did not turn out as expected for Clinton: CNN reported that its exit polls showed 54 percent of women voted for Clinton, compared with 55 percent of women backing President Obama in 2012.

For women's advocates, the results mean "our work is needed more than ever - to fight and to make sure that what matters to us is being expressed at the table," said Michelle Legaspi Sanchez, executive director of the Chester County Fund for Women and Girls. "This just means we have to be on our toes. This means we have to fight."

Pennsylvania has never had a female senator. The state has sent seven women to the U.S. House in its history. The last was Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz, whose term ended in 2015.

Nationally, women have hovered around 20 percent representation in government, though they make up 51 percent of the U.S. population.

Christina Hartman, a Democrat who lost a U.S. House race in the Lancaster County-based 16th District, said the outcome suggests "a bigger sexism problem than any of us realized," though she acknowledged other factors played into women's defeats.

Without women in Congress, Pennsylvania will be "missing a voice on all the issues that are important to our society," Hartman said. "Women in Pennsylvania need to come together and clearly identify [how to] get more women into office."

Around Philadelphia, some women were stunned by Donald Trump's win.

"He's said very offensive things that have really hurt people," said Gail Fulton, 64, a Northeast Philadelphia resident who said she was troubled by "brutal" comments about women from the Republican presidential nominee.

"I don't understand it," she said. 'I'm in shock."

Former Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell said he believed Clinton's gender played a role in her defeat. He noted the three male Democrats seeking statewide office - for treasurer, attorney general, and auditor general - all won Tuesday while Clinton and McGinty failed.

"I don't think that's an accident," he said. "I think women in Pennsylvania have a tough row to hoe."

State Rep. Mary Jo Daley (D., Montgomery) - one woman who won reelection Tuesday - said the results are a reason to keep "pounding away" at recruiting and training more women to run. Research has shown women generally win at the same rate as men, but are far less likely to run for office.

Daley said she believes Clinton's loss had an effect on the down-ballot women's races. Watching Clinton's concession speech was a balm, she said.

"I just felt so proud of her, because she is so strong," Daley said. "I never could really understand how people could hate this woman so much."

In her speech Wednesday, Clinton specifically thanked women, for whom she said she was proud to be a champion. "I know we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling, but someday someone will - and hopefully sooner than we might think right now," Clinton said. "And to all the little girls who are watching this: Never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams."

Clinton's running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine, said she still deserves praise as the first female major-party presidential nominee and winner of the popular vote.

"She made history," he said, "in a nation that was good at so many things but that has made it uniquely difficult for a woman to be elected to federal office."

jmcdaniel@phillynews.com610-313-8205@McDaniel_Justine

Staff writers Chris Brennan and Michaela Winberg contributed to this article.