Ladies! Do you realize after years and years we still being paid less than men? While the number of women CEOs and senators, is on the rise, there are still a small amount of women in positions of power. Are we really ready for a female candidate as President? In a survey in August, of men and women, both indicated they would rather have male bosses. Now, I’m not on a female empowerment kick here, but my question is, are we really making progress? If 92 percent of Americans polled said they would accept a female president, how are there so many who prefer male bosses?

For one, we must realize that we play a crucial role in our status as females. Some of us play into men’s expectations of us, because we fear we won’t be seen as attractive or feminine if we don’t. Trust me I know. I once had a guy friend tell me, “You’ll never get married because you don’t know how to cook”. Competition and cattiness is the prime reason why women in general are not supportive of one another, especially in the workplace. With these survey findings, it’s going to be hard for me to logically expect a female to actually win as President. As many judgments that men have, unfortunately we as women make judgments as well. Part of it is we are conditioned to believe men are the best in authority positions, and women, well we’re just there for support. Think about it. When you hear the words, President, Principal, Police officer, doctor, lawyer, who do you think the gender of the person is? Men, right? It’s crazy, because we all know that women can be those things, but yet we automatically assume it’s a male. Many instances they are males, but what is our reaction when we hear it is a woman?

It’s not all bad news, though. There have been many strides made in America over the past few years and across the globe in terms of women earning higher statuses. In South Africa where women still don’t have rights many of us take for granted, women now make up 25 percent of legislatures. And in South America, Chile elected its first female president. However, there are also movements in many parts of the eastern world to stop female genital mutilation in parts of Africa and some Arab countries. Unfortunately, around the world honor killings of women still occur daily.

Of course, I appreciate that as an American woman there are liberties I have, that unfortunately other women don’t. I still feel strong about gender rights and want to try to break down some of the gender stereotypes. Nothing will change over night, but we need to be aware all of the time of issues that affect us.

Also, gals, it’s important to realize you can still be feminine, sweet, and nurturing, but holding your ground and fighting for your rights at the same time.