Women Have Arrived

Congratulations and three Cheers!  Kamala Harris is the first woman elected to serve as Vice President of the United States.

Finally, we have a woman in power in America. Why were we so late to the game?  Look at other women leaders across the globe – Great Britain, New Zealand, Liberia, Norway and Germany to name just a few.  Angela Merkel has been in power for sixteen years.   Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister over forty years ago.   

Whatever the reasons behind America’s reticence to support women in power, the time has finally arrived.  Women are moving beyond the subjugate positions to which they were caste socially, culturally and economically.  We cannot help but think about how our mothers would feel at this moment. 

Lucy’s father served on the Board of a Boston medical institution and her mother oversaw the Gift Shop in the hospital.  As far as she knows, her mother never even considered asking to serve on the Board.  That was male dominion.

At age fifteen, I told my mother I wanted to be a scientist and work in a lab to help cure cancer. She said that my husband would support me and added “get your teacher’s certificate so you can work part-time while you raise your children.” No one ever suggested that I could grow up to be President of the United States.  

It is not our mothers’ fault because they were brought up in a generation where men were in charge and no one questioned the gender roles. Period end of case.

There is the adage that “if women ruled the world” there would not be wars and famine and political divisions. Women are problem solvers and peacemakers.  I wonder from whence these critical skills derive.  There may be anthropological answers to this that we may explore at another time. 

Think about the power of that.  Women have these innate traits to look at the whole picture and pay attention to details at the same time. Women understand how to balance priorities.   Imagine how empowering this might have been in American history.  Vice President Kamala Harris has just begun to lead.  She will be challenged at every step.  We do not know her well enough, but we hold out hope that she will use her “women’s problem-solving skills” to build a cooperative and collegial leadership as both a player and a role model in Washington.

Stay safe and well.

Ciao

Lucy and Claudia