International Women’s Day.

The American women’s suffrage movement spurred the creation of International Women’s Day in 1911. However, this annual celebration on March 8 fell into disfavor after it was adopted by communist countries and for years passed with scant attention in the U.S.

One of the organizations seeking to amplify the voices of women worldwide is the International Museum of Women. Visit their site in honor of International Women’s Day.

Hillary's emotions.

Hillary's getting choked up on the eve of the New Hampshire primary and carrying the women's vote has been the subject of intense scrutiny and debate. Stay at home mom and columnist Judith Warner, in her typical don't-tell-me-women-are-weak tirade, bemoans what she saw as women being drawn to Hillary's apparent weakness and vulnerability. Maureen Dowd, a liberal whose efforts to draw readers with cynicism sometimes puts her in the same league as Ann Coulter, beats up on Hillary for what Dowd says was a display of narcissism. I agree with Dowd and Gloria Steinem that one of Hillary's biggest liabilities as a woman candidate is that she seems constantly driven to prove her masculinity and appear tough. So, I was relieved when she showed some emotion and vulnerability.

Voters may be attracted to women as leaders and policy makers because they hope women will bring some humility, compassion and desire for cooperation to the job. After all, been male ego and monolithic thinking have gotten us into so many of the messes facing our nation. Many voters are tired of leaders who try to solve international conflicts with force, are unable to see the nuances in complex situations, and are unable to admit their mistakes. I hope Hillary will show more emotional complexity in the future.

Abortion and women's rights.

Abortion opponents boast of their moral outrage at killing, but most of them support the death penalty and don’t bat an eye if a lot of innocent people in other nations are killed in order to eliminate a few terrorists. They also don't tend to support policies that would lower the inexcusable U.S. infant mortality rate below its present level, which is higher than virtually all of Europe.

Opposition to abortion is mostly driven by fear that making abortion easily available leads to sexual promiscuity and women not assuming their proper role in society, thus destroying the social fabric. An excellent book on this subject published by Cornell University Press analyzed the history of laws in all fifty states affecting women's rights and freedoms and those affecting the protection of life. It concluded that the states with the strictest abortion laws also offer the poorest protection of women's rights and worst protection of life in all areas other than abortion, and that restricting women's rights was a much stronger motivator of anti-abortion laws than fetal protection. (The Journal of Christian Ethics described the book as a balanced prescription for a "seamless garment of love for unborn children.")

U.S. slips in gender gap rankings

(Fourth post in a series on the book Matrocracy. Link to first post.)
According to the Associated Press, the U.S. scored lower in the annual Global Gender Gap Report because the percentage of female legislators, senior officials and managers fell in 2007, and the pay gap between women and men widened.

Why is the U.S. 31st in the world in gender equality and not in the top ten? In part, it's a choice voters and potential voters are making. Young single women, whose opportunities are most affected by this gap, are a group that has in the past been least likely to vote.
Link to fifth post in the series.

The default image of a leader is male.

So say a recent op-ed and an article in the NY. Times. To succeed, Hillary tries to appear tough (but probably doesn't have to work too hard at it), and women in general have to be more aggressive negotiators, observe the women writing these pieces. But Hillary is reportedly cultivating her girlfriend advantage, and a researcher is examining whether cleavage helps women in sales. Women have to work both sides of the gender divide to succeed seems to be the message. No wonder women's brains are better wired for multitasking than men's.

Perhaps men ought to imitate the opposite sex.

Says Brent Bowers in his column Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Business.

The nature vs. nurture debate about gender.

(Third post in a series on the book Matrocracy. Link to first post.)
So-called "gender" feminists assert a blank slate theory: that men and women are inherently the same. Apparent cognitive and behavioral differences between men and women are purely a product of women’s subordination in a repressive patriarchy, they say, and should gradually disappear as women rise to a more equal footing with men.

But if the opposite were true, it could mean that we've been doing feminism all wrong – which could explain a lot about the movement's widespread stall after more than thirty years of trying to realize its promise.

Neuroscience has revealed gender differences in every major part of the brain. Many studies show brain regions that manage emotions, reasoning and even motor control are not the same in men and women. There are also huge gender differences in hormones that affect brain chemistry. One theory asserts that gender differences in brain function and chemistry largely cancel each other out so as to preclude gender differences from being seen in behavior.

In contrast to the feminist model, matrocracy embraces the alternative concept that men and women are inherently different. Culture has not accentuated these natural differences, but instead largely has acted to impose gender sameness in thought and behavior. In this view, the goal of reforming patriarchal institutions to end cultural strictures would not be to eliminate gender differences, but rather to enable women’s unique nature to more fully emerge. Women’s decision making strategies and outcomes are different from those of men historically and currently in power. (See previous post.) Recognition of gender differences is not an impediment to social progress – it is the key to finding solutions to some of humanity’s most difficult problems.
Link to fourth post in the series.