The role of women in modern American culture is way behind the rest of the world. For centuries women in other countries have been heralded as exceptional leaders and heroes: Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, Queen Victoria, Eva Peron, Indira Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher, and Mary Queen of Scots just to name a few. That is not to say that the USA has not had great women who did great things. They just aren’t given credit for it. Locally we have had two women who left behind admirable legacies – Jessie Bloom and Marlyne Whaley.

Now don’t get me wrong. There are many American women who have earned respect in the public eye, like Taylor Swift, Oprah Winfrey, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton. Yet when it comes to electing a woman president, we haven’t been able get over the finish line. Hillary Clinton was unable to shatter the glass ceiling that she speaks of even though she won the popular vote.

To make matters worse, women’s rights were struck a truly fatal blow when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Since then women have suffered and some have died because they were unable to get the medical treatment they needed. It’s almost as though women aren’t valued in our society. Even saving cats and dogs and ducks has been the subject of Face Book posts. Yet women’s lives have been more endangered by our Republican politicians than pets’ lives have been from Haitian immigrants.

The disdain for women exhibited by the current Republican presidential ticket is simply unacceptable. Donald Trump views women as trophies and objects available for his pleasure, while JD Vance sees them as baby machines until they reach the age where they become baby sitters.

In almost any position, a woman must perform better than a man for less pay. It’s a sad fact of life here in the country heralded as the leader of the free world. It’s quietly accepted that women are discriminated against when it comes to promotions or raises. The reasons given always just skirt the law and are, therefore, acceptable. It happens. You know it does.

Don’t you think it’s about time we look at the qualifications of the person running for President and not the sex? Kamala Harris has spent the last 3 ½+ years on deck. If Joe Biden had passed away or been otherwise unable to perform his duties as President, she would now be running as the incumbent. The most important qualification for a vice president is that s/he be able to become president at a moment’s notice, like LBJ in 1963. Kamala Harris has been our representative around the world and dealt with the same leaders that the President has. She has been in the Situation Room and her opinion has been valued for policies and actions. She has served in the Senate and has relationships with elected members of Congress. She’s smart and has good judgment. Her policies are sound and she understands what’s at stake. She had to work her way through college and law school. She understands the challenges of middle class families.

Part of the problem has been that women themselves have been hesitant to vote for a woman for the highest elected office in the country. I haven’t been able to figure out why this is. I can only speculate that a lot of women buy into what men tell them: that they are less than, that women are prone to hysterics and don’t have the capacity to fulfill the duties required by such a lofty position.

Women have led Fortune 500 companies and have proven their political worth in other positions. Yet when it comes to POTUS, there is just something that holds us back.

I take heart in knowing that people thought a Catholic couldn’t be elected. Then we had Kennedy. They said a black couldn’t be elected. Then we had Obama. We are still saying a woman can’t be elected. Don’t you think it’s about time we put that old meme to rest?

Just remember: Ginger Rogers did the same thing Fred Astaire did, only backwards and in heels.

Verna Caruso, a Muncy native, is a former staff member at Inc. magazine and past chair of the Lycoming County Democratic Committee.