What Would a World Run by Women Actually Look Like?
On female leadership in the past, present and possible future
With Kamala Harris emerging as the official Democratic candidate for the presidency of the United States — arguably one of the most powerful positions in the world — the fear of a world led by women is, once again, reignited.
This is evident in the Republican candidate’s campaign, which not-so-subtly suggests women aren’t capable of leading anything beyond a bake sale, and the heightened scrutiny of Harris’s appearance, tone, and demeanour — much of which, unsurprisingly, plays into sexist and racist tropes. But also, in a broader panic about the supposed ‘feminisation’ of our world.
The claim that everything is becoming ‘feminised’ — the West, men, education, the workplace, the home, etc. — has become such a popular cry among certain segments of society you’d think we’re mere years away from exiling men who leave the toilet seat up to outer space and renaming the planet to ‘Estrogenia.’ But the reality is far different. Women still occupy just a fraction of legislative seats globally, and only 26 of the 193 UN member countries are currently led by women (in most cases, these leaders are also the first female heads of state or government their countries have ever had.)
