Martin Luther King Jr. once famously said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” For the last century, at least, this seems to have been the case. And, being a somewhat hopeful person, I think it can continue.
We can continue to improve human rights, promote gender equality and protect our planet before we hurt our most vulnerable or, worst-case scenario, destroy the world we live in.
As bad as things sometimes sound, the progress we have made is astounding. It may not feel as significant in the Western world – we may have even taken a step back after the pandemic – but other countries are advancing quickly. Gay marriage is becoming more acceptable across the world; more and more countries are addressing climate change; and women's rights are increasing globally, despite the fact that a man who ran on protecting women “whether they like or not” will re-enter the White House.
As King noted, the arc of the moral universe is long – as in, it can take a long time to rectify long-standing social issues. We will have setbacks. As we saw in the U.S., economic disruptions like inflation can go a long way to elect autocratic leaders where the public still desires a strongman, not a strong woman. But rest assured, future female presidents (and prime ministers) are inevitable.
When it comes to gender equality, I would argue we are still world leaders, despite America’s refusal to elect a female president and despite Canada’s refusal to elect a woman to lead one of its major political parties (yes, I’m talking to you, Canada – you thought you could get off so easily??) Other than the Nordic countries, where women outperform men on almost every metric including kick boxing (I’m speculating here), our countries give women more opportunities in leadership than perhaps anywhere else in the world. Never mind that Canada and the U.S. are ranked 30th and 44th in the 2023 Global Gender Gap Index.... I’m not sure how much faith I have in this ranking, as Switzerland is ranked 21st.
My sister-in-law speaks from first-hand experience. After visiting her sister’s family in Switzerland, she was surprised by the gender hierarchy that existed in this part of Europe. Her sister works in the financial sector, a male-dominated workplace where women aren't offered the same respect or opportunities. In large part, says her sister, women are valued more as child-bearing homemakers than professionals in the workforce. To offer some perspective, one region of Switzerland granted women the right to vote only in 1990! This surprised me. Here I thought Europeans were so progressive and Ooh-la-la! Look at us and all our equality you backward, barbaric North Americans! Based on her experience, this may not be the case. [As a side note, these countries may offer better maternity and social benefits for women than Canada and the U.S. which might place well on measures of gender equality, but it doesn’t mean that attitudes towards women have changed or that women are accepted as equals in the workplace.]
Then there’s Russia... A country headed back into the dark ages when it comes to women’s rights. Recently, President Vladimir Putin banned “child-free propaganda” in his country because he worries that women are having too few children (the same concern has been voiced by vice president-elect JD Vance). The Kremlin now promotes TV shows that show happy women with many children. They’ve offered financial incentives to women who have at least 10 kids, they've restricted abortion and are now encouraging child birth to begin at the age of 19.
Setting Russia aside – a federation (the former USSR) that incidentally promoted gender equality much earlier than most Western countries – based on world trends, women’s rights will continue to improve. Despite some setbacks, more women than ever before are in higher education (outnumbering men) and are earning higher incomes. They are less prone to addiction than men and are involved in far less crime. For these and other reasons, their average lifespan is a full six years longer than men in the U.S. and four years longer in Canada. In other words, on average, they have a much better chance at success in today’s society than ever before. (This also says something about boys and men in our society, but we'll deal with that another day.)
America was as close as ever to having two women running against one another to become the U.S. president. Twice in the last eight years, Americans almost elected a woman president. That says something.
Canada, on the other hand, is starting to look like a 1930s backwater with its lack of federal female leaders. What would a modern-day feminist version of Martin Luther King Jr. have to say about his northern neighbour? Eh?!
