In an economic downturn, it has been noted that it is men that lose their jobs first, given that they are paid higher while women retain theirs and get to be the breadwinners. The roles of men and women get reversed, so the woman goes to work while the men stay home to change diapers and do the cooking.

This happenstance is one that certainly hurts the egos of men who traditionally have been the ones to bring home the bacon. Gone are the days when women are relegated to the kitchen. Today’s women can do virtually anything a man does, and they comprise more than half the population of our country. I have sat in classes with a lot of women who kicked my rear end, and I am not stupid. Or so I have been told.

In spite of this assertion, it is my fervent belief that some men in America still find it hard to have a woman in the highest office in the land even though I can readily name the number of countries around the world that have had female presidents or heads of state.

Off the top of my head, I could easily count almost three dozen from Argentina to South Korea. It is a shame that even third world countries have had to do things differently in a male-dominated world, by electing women to the highest office while our country is guilty of dragging its feet.

I come from Sierra Leone, a corrupt small country in West Africa that is still teetering and unable to find its feet ever since self-rule over five decades ago. The current president is anything but good. Next door is  Liberia, where  Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is doing just fine, transforming her country that had been ravaged by war, to a steady and fast-growing economy.

Americans are never shy to tout the progressive nature and forward thinking characteristics of its population compared to the rest of the world, yet we are woefully behind when it comes to giving equal rights and opportunities to women.

Women earn just 78 cents for every dollar a man makes in a country where women make up about half the workforce. The outcry has been deafening in this regard and now that women have the chance to change that, I am surprised they are not pouncing on it.

There is only one job so far that I can certainly guarantee a woman will receive the same pay as a man. That is the presidency. So why are women not flocking to Hillary Clinton to make this happen and break that ceiling? She is perhaps the most qualified person to run for that office ever. And look who the opponent is. No contest here!

This is why I still fault women for maintaining the status quo. Last time I said this, I was almost chased out of a room outnumbered by women. Ladies, this is your chance to fight back and do so now or forever hold your peace!