Just kidding.  If women’s values were predominant, then nobody would “rule the world”: we would understand our profound interdependence, and know that the good of one is inextricably bound to the good of all others.

Which brings me to the fascinating article, “The End of Man,” by Hanna Rosin, in this month’s Atlantic.  Rosin cites some significant changes in the balance of gender roles.  For example, for the first time in history, more women than men make up the work force of our nation.  Women hold 51 percent of the professional and managerial positions (although not so at the top of this heap).  And when choosing the sex of a child, couples these days more often than not say, “We want a girl.”  And this is only the beginning, says Rosin.

So what’s causing the shift?  Maybe we just want a change.  Maybe we’ve had enough ego-based behavior, testosterone-driven wars, puffed-up striving.  Maybe we can see that the values that have driven our society have driven us into the ground and are on the verge of making life unlivable for future generations.  Maybe we’ve saying “enough, already.”

Now we know that both men and women carry both male and female sides within.  So we have no shortage of examples of women who will lead nations into war or who will cut throats in the boardroom.  And there are also plenty of examples of men who are gentle and nurturing, who care passionately for the earth and its inhabitants.  I have two sons I would count among them, and a husband. 

But note that 90% of the folks who are in jail are male.  Men are much more likely than women to develop their aggressive side.  The male hormones, androgen and testosterone; male physical strength; the cultural mandate that men be warriors; the societal conditioning of men to avoid tender feelings; the evolution of an economic system that rewards competition rather than co-operation; and the expectation, until quite recently, that the male be the bread-winner: all these factors have combined to push aggression in the male and to discourage the development of relationality, spirituality, and an emotional life that can contain fear and sadness as well as anger.

So what would the world look like if, in fact, women ruled?  If when you opened your newspaper and saw on the front page a picture of the latest meeting of world leaders, or corporation heads, or members of Congress, almost all of them were women–and not just white women–but women of color–what would our world be like?  Allow me to fantasize, to dream:  

–The United States would no longer squander its resources on foreign wars to protect American business interests and to support our reckless habits of consumption.  Instead, the money would be used for education, for service to the most vulnerable among us, for the strengthening of our infrastructure, both human and material.

–Competition would belong to the world of sport and games, but in other human endeavors, other values would prevail–values such as co-operation, excellence, integrity, character, skill, patience, care, and compassion.  Phrases like “We killed them!” and “We really kicked ass!” and “We rolled over them!”  would sound antiquated and offensive.

–Elected leaders would ask one another the question the Masai tribe use as a greeting, “How are the children?”  And if they cannot answer, as the Masai do, “The children are well,” they would set about making a world in which children would be well, both now and in the future.  Most of these leaders would be mothers, you see–that would be their primary identity–and so more than anything else in the world, they would want the children to have a future.

Everyone needs both male and female energy, both yin and yang, to become a whole personality.  We need the male initiative, courage, power, the thrusting forward; we need the female nurturing, listening, feeling, taking in and holding.  But we’ve been way, way over-loaded with male energy in this culture.  What is happening now, I think, is that we are reaching for more of a balance.  At least that is my fervent hope.  We’ll all be the better for it.