Clinton needs strong progressive.

By Marc Priester

One glass ceiling separates Hillary Clinton from returning to her former place of residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. But to get there, she'll have to confront serious voter skepticism about her credibility and commitment to reducing economic inequality.

Clinton could address both concerns by naming progressive firebrand Sen. Elizabeth Warren as her vice presidential running mate, creating the first all-female presidential ticket.

With two-thirds of white women - and more than 90 percent of women of color - viewing Donald Trump unfavorably, a Clinton-Warren ticket could be an appealing antidote to Trump's well-documented misogyny. Women are the largest voting bloc in America, and they were a big part of Clinton's successful primary campaign.

Yet it would be unwise for Clinton to rest on the assumption that women voters will flock to her banner solely due to Trump's boorishness. Her "unfavorable" ratings in opinion polls run considerably higher among younger women and white women, especially compared with women of color and older women - her most ardent supporters.

Part of the reason may come down to the former secretary of state's centrist policy record. For example, a Pew Research study found that more women than men prefer greater government intervention in daily life. Women described improving education and assisting the poor as "top priorities" at rates of 72 percent and 58 percent, respectively.

Women are not a political monolith, but they all face sexism inside and outside the workplace. Women earn 79 percent of what men make and are disproportionately represented in low-wage fields that lack job security and benefits. The corporate glass ceiling leaves women out of leadership roles - only 4 percent of the largest companies have female CEOs.

Ultimately, women are more likely than men to be impoverished because of sexism. So progressive policies addressing employment, compensation, and opportunity disparities could appeal to a broad swath of them.

Yet Clinton's ties to Wall Street banks, her backpedaling on universal health care, and her past support for free-trade agreements have contributed to the perception that she would govern as a centrist if elected.

Selecting a populist running mate would be one way for Clinton to signal her support for a progressive economic agenda. Warren would be such a candidate.

The Massachusetts senator was instrumental in the creation of President Obama's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Her influence and popularity have helped move the Democratic Party leftward on banking reform and financial regulation.

Warren also possesses an uncanny ability to disrupt the haughty swagger of Trump, ferociously ridiculing the GOP candidate in speeches and on social media.

Her addition to the presidential ticket could galvanize supporters and help lock Clinton into a progressive posture for the remainder of the election (and beyond). It would be far more difficult for Clinton to backpedal on any progressive campaign commitments, at least on economic issues, with Warren pressuring her behind closed doors and in the public eye.

During the primary, Clinton claimed to be "a progressive who gets things done." Warren's gadfly presence in the Oval Office could help keep Clinton accountable to both parts of that claim.

Marc Priester is an economic research associate at the Institute for Policy Studies (www.ips-dc.org). mpriester@ips-dc.org He wrote this for InsideSources.com.