If all the world's leaders were women ...

3 teens win annual Morris County NOW essay contest

Daily Record newsroom, April 27, 2006

"If all of the world's leaders were women, would the world be more peaceful?  Explain why or why not."

Student writers were asked that question by the Morris County Chapter of the National Organization for Women for its annual essay contest.

This year there were two winners (a tie) from grades 10 through 12 and one from grades seven through nine, said Shirley Henderson, the essay contest coordinator.  The winners will receive a $100 U.S. Savings Bond and a one-year membership in NOW.  Prizes will be awarded at the chapter's May 2 meeting.

These are the winning essays:
 

Women are our future

By Anne Lucid

In his 2001 hit single "Peaceful World," John Cougar Mellencamp wrote, "It's not what you do and not what you say ... If you're not part of the future then get out of the way."

In a world where violence and aggression seem to be our leaders only answers to evil, women are our future.  For hundreds of years, women have been delegated to the role of nurturing and compassion, but not in a global sense.  These leadership traits are key if we are to ensure a peaceful future.  Men have led the most powerful nations in the world for centuries, however, they always seem to falter in the same ways.  Now, in a time when peace is most needed, I believe that powerful females throughout the world need to stand together and lead the world's population into the future.

Throughout history, women have been the nurturing, loving and responsible individuals given the task of education and rearing future generations.  In today's world full of nuclear weapons, poverty and war, women should utilize these inherent skills to lead the world to peace.  I was raised almost solely by my mother, a woman who directed her entire life toward helping me grow into a mature and responsible young woman.  Being raised by a woman, as I was, is much like having female world leaders.  Mothers and leaders alike are mentors, disciplinarians and can offer lifelong support.  Many more women possess these traits than men do; these are the traits of great leaders.

Men, in general, are, by nature, more competitive, aggressive and uncompromising; why do we continue to stand back and allow them to repeat their mistakes?  Throughout history, there have been male leaders who have led their societies to ruin because of their arrogance and self-serving nature.  Men like General Custer, Napoleon Bonaparte and Benito Mussolini have all allowed their competitive, raging personalities to take control with complete disregard for human well-being.

In our fast-paced, ever-advancing society, mankind needs leaders who can take us into the future in a peaceful, cooperative manner.  A change toward women leading our nations would afford the world a chance to shape our future into a peaceful environment for all to live.  After all, this is Mother Earth.  It's time we get our world's home in order.

Gender-based is unjust

By Allegra Stout

It is unjust to begin with a gender-based perspective when analyzing political leaders.  To do so is merely to reinforce age-old stereotypes of strong, warring men and meek, peaceful women.  In today's more enlightened society, we know that to formulate expectations for individual human beings based on the sole fact of gender is at best misguided and at worst limiting and even tyrannical.  Thus, there is no reason to believe that the world would be more peaceful if all its leaders were women.

Although "all the world's leaders" is a somewhat vague phrase, it can be safely assumed that those who wield real global political power in this way are relatively few in number, and certainly less than 100.  With such a small sample of people, there is no logical defense for making judgments and forming views based on broad statistical averages.  Even if it is true that men are on average more outwardly aggressive than women -- a claim for which I have yet to see any scientifically valid evidence -- that in no way is a reliable indicator that a few dozen individual women, each of whom is an individual with a past and a unique personality and outlook, will be less aggressive than their male counterparts.

Furthermore, it takes a certain type of person, male or female, to climb through the ranks and become a world leader.  Women who conform strictly to gender stereotypes of passivity are highly unlikely to reach high positions.  Few people want to be political leaders, and even fewer would be able to if they tried.  To do so, one must exhibit certain qualities which do not always coincide with traditional gender roles.

Even if a naturally quiet and peaceful woman did take office, there would be no guarantee of these traits being reflected in her political policies.  Good leaders are guided by their beliefs and those of their people, not by whatever personality traits they may bring with them.  Male leaders who are mellow and playful with their families can still start wars with their countries' enemies when the situation calls for it.  People of character, of either gender, are able to separate their own moods and personal preferences from the morally and legally right courses of action.

Gender is irrelevant to both war-mongering and peace-loving behavior.  There is no basis for the assumption that world peace would be more readily achievable if only women stood at the helm.  Not only is any assumption about so few individuals based on statistics completely unreliable, but world leaders are not a randomly chosen representative sample of the human population.  They are specific sorts of people who make particular choices and work hard to reach positions of power.  Leaders, moreover, generally act for what they believe to be the good of a country or the world, not because they have the personality-driven inclinations to do so.  The state of the world does depend in part on who leads it, but not on the gender of these leaders.

Women are different

By Jacqueline MacLeod

"What is a woman?  I assure you, I do not know. ... do not believe that anybody can know until she has expressed herself in all the arts and professions open to human skill." -- Virginia Woolf

There is one profession that has never been held by a woman:  president.  In fact, there have only been a handful of women who have been world leaders, though I feel that if all the world's leaders were women, the world would be more peaceful.

Women are different, mentally, than men, but can be (and are) just as intelligent as them.  They are equally capable of making the right decisions and successfully running their countries.  Women will bring new, amazing ideas to the presidency, which many presidents may have never thought of.  A woman would bring ideas targeted toward the individual and those of all statuses.  Having a new point of view, but not forgetting those of the men, would definitely be a change for the better.

People with opposing opinions may argue that women would let their emotions get in the way of being president, but this is not true.  The emotional nature of women will bring resolutions to the small problems that men normally ignore.  They would take into account many of the small things going on, and try to develop resolutions to them, as well as the larger problems.  Although a woman president would tend to small problems, she would not let them get in the way of the larger ones, because she has her priorities straight.  Every conflict would be considered.

Women will connect better with each other than men do.  When the world leaders meet, women will have a better understanding for the problems and views of one another.  Also, they will have calmer reactions.  If someone accidentally offends another country's leader, they will deal with it calmly, instead of overreacting.  Also, women plan what they say and consider how people will react (more so than men).  Therefore there will be less accidental cases of offending or angering people.

Women would be amazing world leaders.  The world would become much more peaceful if all the world's leaders were women.  They will bring fresh ideas, be more considerate, and make a better connection with each other.  I believe that one day, many of the world's leaders will be women, making the world a better place.

Anne Lucid of Morristown is a senior at Morristown High School.
Allegra Stout of Montville is a sophomore at Montville High School.
Jacqueline MacLeod of Rockaway is a freshman at Morris Hills High School.