When women rule the world

Since it's National Women's History Month this March, it's time to look at the reasons why women should rule the world.

They're capable, collaborative and, doggone it, people like them. Well, most of them.

In the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, as aid workers struggled to get food out to those who needed it most, the system finally worked when all the men were booted from the food lines. The guys would take the food and not share it. Some tried to sell the food. Women would share the "wealth," such as it was.

And, since our military efforts have faltered in Afghanistan to win over hearts and minds, the Marine Corps is sending "female engagement teams" to Helmand Province to win over the rural Afghan women who are culturally off limits to outside men.

These courageous women follow decades after the WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots) flew military planes around the country during World War II because the male pilots were needed on the front lines.

Here's the lead last week from the Associated Press:

"WASHINGTON -- They flew planes during World War II but weren't considered 'real' military pilots. No flags were draped over their coffins when they died on duty. And when their service ended, they had to pay their own bus fare home."

They received long-overdue recognition Wednesday when they were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor given by Congress, in a ceremony on Capitol Hill.

Women, then, were used to double standards and accepted it. But, much like African-Americans, though, after WWII, many women liked their new-found independence they earned from their war efforts. They now make up most of the work force, but are still paid less for their work.

But, that too, is slowly changing toward full equality with men.

Today, women make up almost 60 percent of college enrollment in America. It was below 25 percent in the early 1950s. They are in the majority at law and med schools.

When a woman becomes president of the U.S., we may finally see the day when "equal work earns equal pay."

Hillary Clinton came close in 2008. The next time -- and no, it won't be Sarah Palin -- we should elect a woman president. Men have screwed up things for far too long.

If women had been running the financial institutions the last few years, we wouldn't be experiencing the Great Recession today. It is way past time that women get the chance to make this a better world.

Women are already doing it in the micro-lending field. The Grameen Bank, that started in Bangladesh in 1976 by a man, Muhammad Yunus, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his groundbreaking work, shows how "banking for the poor" is changing the world for the better.

The micro-credit model that Yunus pioneered, loans tiny amounts to poor women to fund their tiny businesses. Only 3 percent of Grameen's borrowers are men, because most men are not deemed reliable, trustworthy or frugal enough to handle it. Sounds like our world, doesn't it.

Today, the Grameen Bank is mostly owned by the poor women who use it.

On the other end of the spectrum, in Hollywood, women are finally being recognized in an area men have always dominated.

The first Oscar win by a woman director, Kathryn Bigelow, last week is another sign that women can lead a film crew and be successful at it. And, she directed a man's war flick, "The Hurt Locker."

Women know all about that locker. They've been in it for far too long. It's time for them to leave it behind and take control of their destiny -- ruling the world.