Glass Ceiling

Hillary Clinton suspended her presidential campaign, finally... Sign... But as she stated in her exit speech:"... The glass ceiling (of working women) is not broken, but it got solidly cracked ..."

I always admire her courage and ambition, as I had admired the only female emperor in Chinese history --- Emperor ZeTian Wu. Usually it would take double or even triple effort for women to achieve the same social positions as their male peers. And, for some leadership positions, it is horribly impossible for a woman to achieve, no matter how she is able or experienced with it --- This is what we called the "glass ceiling" for women in the society. One of the indications would be the "President of United States".

America is not ready, not ready for a female president yet. It is way too conservative, in the gender aspect. Looking at the below picture, it is the first female defense minister in Spain, she got appointed in the position when she is 7 months pregnant! This occured not long ago, in April 2008.



"Spain's pinko prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, has just begun his second term, and his commitment to gender parity in government is unparalleled: For the first time, women outnumber men 9 to 8 in the Spanish cabinet. Even more revolutionary is the fact that Spain's first female defense minister, Carme Chacón, 37, is seven months up the stick. Marisa Sotelo, president of the the Spanish Women's Foundation, says, in an interview with Time, that the impression of a pregnant women leading a group of soldiers is "an important image precisely because it conveys normality...It serves a pedagogic function: it shows that women can be and are everywhere." Unsurprisingly, not all of Spain is thrilled that a very pregnant woman will be leading Spanish troops. A conservative military association consisting mostly of retired soldiers called Chacón's appointment a sign of "contempt."

It is a long way to go, for women to really earn their equal rights with men in the society and culture.