So When *Exactly* Do Men Become More Rational, Capable, & Fit To Lead Than Women?
“So where does the jump happen where men run ahead and women fall behind so much so that women are not leaders?
We all know that without the work of women, societies across the globe screech to a painful, calamitous halt. But despite the various power anthems about girls running the world, the fact of the matter is that there is a massive leadership gap between men and women in business and politics. Just one third of U.N. member countries have ever had a female leader. Women make up just 29% of all C-suite positions according to a report from McKinsey & Company and the gender pay gap across industries is alive and well. Like many of us, TikTok user Mary (@marysasson) wants to know why, but she poses the question in a unique way that really does make you think about the issue in a different light.
“At every stage of development in a woman or little girl we kind of agree that little girls outpace boys,” she observes. “If you have a little girl and she talks early everyone is like, ‘Well yeah, girls are early talkers. They’re just better at that. Boys talk later.’ And then when they get to elementary school and middle school it’s like ‘Well, yeah, girls just mature faster and boys will be boys.’”
(Though, sidebar: do they?)
“Then you get to high school [boys] ... are impulsive and they make bad decisions ... you can’t hold them accountable. They’re just tiny little boys. When they get to college, frat boys are a nightmare. They do frat boyish things and, again, they’re just little boys.
“So where does the jump happen where men run ahead and women fall behind so much so that women are not leaders? It’s men. Men are intelligent, rational leaders.”
Certainly this doesn’t happen after college. (“I think we all know we’d rather have a small rat find us groceries than a male Instacart worker.”) It probably doesn’t happen after men become fathers. (“We also know the trope of ‘What do you mean mom is out of town and dad has to take over?’ Like, dad is running the house? Oh f*ck.”) Does it happen in a man’s 40s? 50s? Is there a moment on his deathbed where he’s touched by a divine spark in inspiration that retroactively imbues its powers upon him?
“It’s not rational,” Mary declares before concluding. “Sexism is pretty emotional. And I guess I don’t think people who are so emotional should lead.”
Zing.
“Expecting men to be able to run a country when they can’t even run their own dishwasher once in a while is crazy,” read one particularly wry comment.
“I've never seen a man take initiative, but I always see them take the credit,” observes another. “They'll make you do every step of the labor ‘Because you're just better at it’ from childhood to adulthood.”
Of course, there are so many factors that go into how society sees girls and boys and men and women and, perhaps even more importantly, how girls and boys and men and women see themselves. So, sure, this is a somewhat reductive way to look at things. That said, we can’t exactly find a lie here, either.
