I took four flights last month, and from my vantage point of Zone 4 in the gate area, I watched all the 
high-mileage passengers board first. They were the dealmakers flown by their companies to move business forward and generate revenue. On all four flights, those in the privileged first-to-board line were almost exclusively white males.
In one of those moments of insight that prompted Warren Buffet to invest in Walmart when he noticed the full parking lots, I despaired that I might not see a woman elected president in my lifetime. It seems like when it comes to making decisions about money or quality of life, we’re still more willing to entrust only men with that power.
I remember in my youth the countdown of states to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, which would codify that women would have all the rights guaranteed to men. The ERA, introduced to Congress in 1972, needed 38 of 50 states to ratify it within 10 years before it could be added to the U.S. Constitution.
Ratification stalled at 35 states. North Carolina is among the states that did not ratify the ERA. Then last year Nevada became the 36th state to ratify, and last spring, Illinois became the 37th.
North Carolina could make history. On Valentine’s Day last year, an ERA ratification bill was introduced into the N.C. House and Senate. And then … nothing.
Earlier this month, I went to a political fundraiser for many of the women running for office in the state House and Senate and Supreme Court. I was heartened to see not only so many newcomers to politics who had achieved success in other fields, but also to hear from the battle-tested, pragmatic incumbents who would mentor them.
Over the course of the evening, I heard many references to women being able to get things done. From my own experience and observations, I believe that to be true. But we need to pay attention not only to what we get done but how we do it, if we want to be taken seriously.
We, as women who enter politics and any other profession for that matter, must leave sorority house behavior behind, move beyond middle-school-girl dynamics and concentrate on removing the obstacles that prevent everyone in our community from thriving. If we spend any energy at all on derailing one another’s success, we aren’t doing our job.
My hope is that if the ERA became a part of the Constitution, signaling that as a nation we value women’s contributions as much as men’s, that we women will live into our leadership potential. North Carolina is in a position to level the playing field, so maybe someday in the not too distant future, a woman could be elected president — or at least have a place in the Business Class line.
— Nancy Oates
