Trail Blazers vs. Trail Followers
“Women have made it to a point where a woman who’s been first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state can win a presidential nomination. Now let’s see how long it takes for someone who’s a little less overqualified to get the nod.”
–Gail Collins, “Hillary on the March“; The New York Times (7/28/2016).
I heard the same sentiment expressed slightly differently decades ago, around the time Sandra Day O’Connor — freshly appointed the first woman Supreme Court Justice, and a Stanford Law alum — addressed my Stanford graduating class.
The line:
“True gender equality will have arrived when mediocre women take their place alongside mediocre men” (author unknown, unfortunately).
