Depending on your political tastes, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Sarah Palin or even Tina Fey could be considered Woman of the Year. But here’s the harder question: Was this the Year of the Woman?

Some touted it as such, and in many ways it was a watershed election season: The first viable female presidential candidate — and she almost won. A female vice presidential nominee — and she was a Republican. And a president-elect who’s appointing women to high-profile Cabinet posts and supports family-friendly policies.

Yet talk to women’s advocates, and you’ll get differing views as to just how well things turned out. Some are cheered by the general sense that women are becoming more prominent in the highest echelons of politics. Others are discouraged by what they see as disappointingly slow progress getting women into leadership positions up and down the political food chain.

Such mixed emotions are apparent in the voice of Lois Mickelson, a Florida voter who proudly chose Clinton as her candidate in the primaries, only to see her lose a bruising nomination fight to Barack Obama, then get passed over as his VP pick.

Recently, she found satisfaction in seeing Clinton chosen by her erstwhile rival for the plum job of secretary of state. “I was pleased,” says Mickelson, 61, a small business owner from Wellington, Fla. But she takes a more measured view of the overall task of getting women into leadership in this country.

“We seem to still be lacking,” she says. “It’s a very tough road. You need the strength of a samurai warrior. But I hope we are headed in a new direction.”

Interviews with several women’s advocates yield a consensus on a few points of clear progress. The historic run of Clinton has probably inspired a generation of young women to get involved in politics, says Marie Wilson, president of the White House Project, which trains women to run for office.

Wilson notes that Clinton’s perseverance, especially toward the end as she faced defeat, was a source of pride. “The fact that she got up every day and worked and kept going was so inspiring to women,” she says.

Ellen Malcolm, president of Emily’s List, which backs female candidates who support abortion rights, was in New Hampshire the night of Clinton’s first primary win.

“I met her on the rope line,” Malcolm says. “She said, ‘Ellen, do you realize I’m the first woman that’s ever won a presidential primary?’ We had a big hug. It was a terrific moment.”

Even though Clinton ultimately lost, “she was tough, smart and did a phenomenal job,” says Malcolm, who feels the election cycle was wonderful for women. “She really did put 18 million cracks in that ceiling.”

And Palin? “She may have slipped on some of those pieces of glass,” says Malcolm. But however you feel about John McCain’s love-her-or-hate-her vice presidential nominee, many say her presence on the scene signaled progress for women.

“Whatever her qualifications” — and they were hotly debated after those shaky exchanges with Katie Couric, promptly immortalized by Fey — “every time we get a woman in that position, it has the effect of normalizing women in that position,” says Wilson.

And we can’t forget, she adds, that it was the Republicans who nominated Palin, a party traditionally less supportive of women in the workplace, particularly those with small children. Suddenly the party was defending this mother’s ability to balance the job with her family.

Still, overall, she finds the election year was a disappointment for women. Why? Because there was little trickle-down from symbolic gains made on top. In Congress, there was a net gain of one female senator, from 16 to 17. That’s a record number, but still a small percentage to those who’d like to see gender parity in the 100-member body. If Clinton is replaced by a man, that gain is gone.

In the House, there was a net gain of three women. The number of female governors — nine — remains the same (and one of them, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, has been tapped to be homeland security chief.) “We’re really not moving the dial,” says Wilson. At this rate, her group calculates it’ll be 2063 before parity is achieved in Congress.

Who are the most promising faces in that pipeline? Among Democrats, Napolitano and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, who chaired the Democratic convention, have dramatically increased their profiles, and there’s the just-elected North Carolina Gov. BeverlyPerdue, as well as New Hampshire’s Gov. Jeanne Shaheen. Among Republicans, for now, Palin seems to be the new face of the party.