Hillary Clinton Had Nothing to Do With My Book About the First Woman to Be Elected President

Sounds like the women carry the load in Africa because the men are allowed to do nothing - not unlike their counterparts in this country, who impregnate women and run off to shirk their responsibilities. It appears to me, in both cultures the men need to man-up and start contributing more to society

Very inspiring.! Many American women are now in a state of frantic fear and anxiety based on the 45th president's budget cuts, racism, cruelty towards the poor, the handicapped, the elderly and the financial means of survival for uninsured individuals. Women are especially vulnerable and having lost Hillary Clinton as our ideal president, we are at the mercy of a womanizing president who sees us as merely sexual objects to satisfy his needs.
It is wonderful to see how women can succeed under the most harrowing and arduous conditions. A wonderful author and a book I must read!

Liberia went through some terrible, terrible presidents before they knew they had to change course. Since we're now in the same boat, maybe we will too.

You should study matriarchal societies where guys have to tow the line or else they're out of luck

In reading this it's amazing and inspiring how the women of Liberia created change

I know the whole point is how that story stands on its own but I can't help being reminded and disappointed how 52% of white female voters in the US elected the most anti-woman President in our history.

Is this what we have come to? Taking advice from Liberia...? That means only two things: 1) Liberia is doing things better than the US when it comes to women in politics and high level leadership or 2) US has become Liberia, or getting there.

Let us hope, as the author states, it is the former.

I have not read the book, but it sounds great. I really appreciate that there are authors who are willing to just write a good book without trying to involve politics, current events, and buzzwords. These are the people we need as journalists and academics.

Golda Meir was the first woman unrelated to a previous head of government to become a head of government. Indira Gandhi was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru. Sirimavo Bandaranaike was the wife of a previous prime minister. Golda Meir, however, had no relatives who had served in the government.

The women in Liberia stuck together and won because they strongly united creating an impenetrable wall that men could not break. This happened in part because the country is fragile and women are shielded from the forces that dictate the lives of American women. American women act based on social status and education. Women without education and poor are easily brain washed by endless and repetitive slogans they watch on TV. They are constantly being reminded by political groups or movements about their exploitation by the privileged elite. This plays a huge role in the way they act and are usually guided by the belief that things can happen only if they act in mass. Educated women tend to be less interested in political affairs, political groups or massive activities. In part this is due to their higher levels of risk aversion and lack of interest in politics. Rich women do not care. They are part of the privileged elite and for them everything is about image, latest fashion, gossip, and attending elite events. American women politicians group based on ideologies, status, and political party seeking high aspirations but we should not ignore that US women are treated as second-class citizen and are criticized for almost everything they do. The treatment of American women by society and the media kills their aspiration of holding the nation’s highest office. This together with the vicious attacks of men against women is the real reason why Hillary is not our president.

We have so much to learn about, and from, one another.

Thank you for this well-written piece. I am 68 years old and am convinced that I will never live to see the day when the United States will elect a female president. I only have so many presidential elections left in me--72, 76, 80, 84, etc., and my family health history (father died at 61, mother at 74, sister at 51) does not bode well. After some of the comments I heard during the 2016 election about whether women were "fit" to become commander-in-chief (mainly because they had never served in the military--never mind that DJT never served, either), I became convinced that this country will never go to the lengths that the women of Liberia did. Some of the comments were reminiscent of epithets that were hurled at women who worked for women's suffrage prior to the passage of the 19th amendment in 1920.

Throughout my working career (I am retired now), I endured countless episodes of sexual harassment, as well as not having been promoted due to my gender ("you have children, you won't be able to handle the pressure"). I see these incidents increasing rather than decreasing; I see regression rather than progression.

The women in Liberia offer hope, but the United States remains backward in so many ways, paying mere lip service to equal rights, but, as my late mother used to say, actions speak louder than words.

The Liberian women spanned pre- and written history as they fought for their country and brought more than a woman into the Presidency -- they brought injustice to its knees. And instead of beating it down, they shaped it into a positive future for those who joined the just, uphill fight. Theirs was a particular journey, but one we can adapt to other continents. Women have built strength into their roles, and it's those strengths that may help those of us in politically under-developed countries such as the USA nurse our hope.

Congratulations and best wishes to the women of Liberia and to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and indeed to all the people of Liberia. I am sad that America did not get a woman president, at long last, but Liberia did.

It is so inspiring to hear of the Liberian women's incredible victory over their perpetrators. They truly are an example for us to follow .... we cannot give up.