Today, International Women’s Day, I’m reiterating my longstanding assertion that women need to replace men as leaders in every public sphere, from the Oval Office to the C-suite.
Men should be barred from politics
The titles of three previous commentaries on this topic speak volumes:
- “Cracking the Political Glass Ceiling: Bachelet Becomes First Woman President in South America” on December 12, 2005
- “Women Make Better Politicians than Men,” on October 14, 2010
- “International Women’s Day: Men Should be Barred from Politics” on March 8, 2019
In that spirit, I hasten to salute US Vice President Kamala Harris. Far from waiting for ‘old Joe’ to kick the bucket, she’s spearheading President Biden’s reelection campaign.
Furthermore, Harris does this with a blend of practical and emotional intelligence that makes MAGA Republicans look like male-chauvinist pigs from the 1950s. Most notably, Harris is fiercely battling against their attempts to send us back to that time when Blacks had no voting rights, and women had no abortion rights.
Cultural icons: Beyoncé and Taylor Swift
Have you seen Beyoncé and Taylor Swift on their world tours? These women aren’t just breaking ticket sales records; they’re stimulating national economies.
Every city they grace experiences an economic boom reminiscent of a mini gold rush. And Swift? Her relationship with Travis Kelce has become an even greater cultural phenomenon than Marilyn Monroe’s with Joe DiMaggio.
Of course, I’d be remiss not to acknowledge the “Barbie” phenomenon too. Indeed, it speaks volumes that a movie about a doll rivaled one about the father of the atomic bomb, “Oppenheimer.”
Sports phenomenon: Caitlin Clark
But wait, there’s more! Let’s dribble into the world of sports where Caitlin Clark is doing for women’s basketball what Stephen Curry is doing for the men’s – and then some.
Clark isn’t just breaking records; she’s shattering glass ceilings with every 3-pointer. Breaking Lynette Woodard’s NCAA women’s basketball scoring record was impressive, but toppling Pete Maravich’s legendary 50-year NCAA men’s record? That’s not just skill; that’s a statement: this isn’t your mother’s basketball game.
Women’s rule is long overdue
Face it: men have squandered their chance at leadership. And I need only cite the wars raging from Ukraine to Israel and across Africa between to explain it’s time for a change.
Politics worldwide have become a monotonous loop of the same old follies. It’s high time we took Einstein’s advice and stopped repeating the same mistakes, expecting different results.
Women like Harris, Beyonce, Swift, and Clark aren’t just excelling in their fields; they’re trailblazing new paths forward. Not to mention unsung heroines in the fields of:
- Science – like Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier, inventors of the revolutionary gene-editing technology known as CRISPR-Cas9,
- Business – like Mary Bara, CEO of General Motors,
- Technology – like Kimberly Bryant, founder of Black Girls Code, and
- Philanthropy – like MacKenzie Scott, who is using billions from her stake in Amazon to fund causes related to gender and racial equality.
This is not just about fairness or turnabout; it’s about competence. We’ve clung to the archaic notion that leadership is a man’s world for too long.
But, as these and countless other women demonstrate, it’s time to live in a women’s world. Women are the key to cleaning up the mess men have been making since time immemorial.
So, here’s to International Women’s Day – a celebration of not just women’s achievements but a beacon for the future. A future where leadership isn’t about gender but about the ability to lead, inspire, and make a damn good difference.