I will feel equality has arrived when we can elect to office

Hear now the bold and piercing words of Maureen Reagan, daughter of a president yet a woman who carved her own path in politics: “I will feel equality has arrived when we can elect to office women who are as incompetent as some of the men who are already there.” In this utterance, cloaked in humor yet sharp as a sword, she exposes the heart of inequality: that women are held to higher standards, judged not only as individuals but as representatives of their entire sex. A man may stumble and still retain power, but a woman must prove herself exceptional merely to be allowed to stand beside him.

The meaning of her words lies in the satire: she does not truly desire incompetent leaders, but she reveals the imbalance of expectation. Equality, in its truest sense, is not when women must be flawless, brilliant, and tireless to be considered, but when they are granted the same latitude to fail, to err, and to rise again that men have long enjoyed. Incompetence, when tolerated in one group and forbidden in another, is itself a measure of inequality. Thus Reagan declares that equality will not be fully realized until women are judged with the same mercy—and the same foolishness—that men so often receive.

The origin of such wisdom comes from the lived experience of women in politics and public life. For centuries, whenever a woman faltered, her failure was held as proof that women as a whole were unfit for leadership. Meanwhile, the failures of men were seen only as personal flaws, never as condemnation of all men. Consider Queen Elizabeth I of England, who ruled with brilliance, yet was constantly scrutinized not only as monarch but as woman. Her competence had to be towering to silence critics, whereas countless mediocre kings ruled before and after her with little challenge.

History offers many examples of the uneven scales. In the United States, when Geraldine Ferraro ran for vice president in 1984, her every word and action were dissected with a scrutiny far harsher than that faced by her male counterparts. Meanwhile, many men, unremarkable in ability, filled high offices simply by virtue of being men. It is this hypocrisy that Reagan sought to expose: until women can be as ordinary—and even as incompetent—as men in positions of power, true equality has not yet arrived.

But within her jest lies a heroic call. For women should not have to be saints, geniuses, or pioneers to claim their rightful place. They should be allowed, as men are, to be simply human. To fail without condemnation, to learn without ridicule, to occupy space without constant justification—this is the mark of equality. Anything less is still a gilded cage, beautiful perhaps, but still a prison.

O children of tomorrow, hear this teaching well: do not confuse equality with perfection. If you demand perfection from one group and permit mediocrity in another, you do not seek justice—you seek continued dominion. Real equality is when the scales are even, when brilliance and failure alike are measured by the same standard, regardless of gender, color, or creed.

What then must you do? Strive not only to uplift women of excellence but also to create a world where women, like men, may stumble without being banished from the halls of power. Vote with discernment, not with prejudice. Challenge the double standards that demand women prove their worth twice over while men coast on mediocrity. Teach your sons and daughters alike that competence and incompetence are human traits, not gendered ones.

Thus, the wit of Maureen Reagan is revealed as deeper wisdom. “Equality has arrived,” she tells us, not when only the most brilliant of women may rule, but when women are free to be as fallible, as ordinary, and as human as men have always been allowed to be. In that day, equality will not be an aspiration but a living reality, shared by all.