So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them . . . God saw everything that he had made and indeed, it was very good.
—Genesis 1:27, 31
Senator Kamala Harris is “too ambitious”, key Biden allies told him a mere two weeks ago. Fortunately, former Vice-President Joe Biden ignored their advice based on stereotypical views of women and today named Senator Harris as his vice-presidential running mate. The significance of his choice cannot be understated – not only for this election, but for generations to come.
There are two different creation accounts in the book of Genesis. In the above account, male and female are created at the same time as equals. Neither is described as superior to the other.
Yet worldwide, thirty-four million female adolescents are not in school, and two-thirds of the illiterate people in the world are female.[1]Women the world over still perform the majority of cleaning, cooking, and child-rearing tasks, and, in the American workplace, there is a significant gender pay gap harmful to women’s economic security. The origin of such inequality? Fake News regarding the inferiority of women in sacred Scripture.
Regardless of how far women advance, the discrepancies still hold true. Today women hold only twenty-three percent of U.S. Congressional seats, while men hold seventy-seven percent; the United States has never had a female president or vice-president, and two out of three Supreme Court justices are male. In addition, a recent study by the Harvard Business Review shows that “male justices interrupt the female justices approximately three times as often as they interrupt each other during oral arguments.”[2]
Such realities and the visual images they evoke communicate powerful messages to women and men throughout the world. Equally powerful is Biden’s choice today. There are times when the light does shine. There are times when progress is made, albeit slowly.
We are all created in God’s image, and we are indeed very good. God has said so. It is time for the United States of America to have a female vice-president. Past time.
For additional reflections, see my newest book, Spiritual Truth in the Age of Fake News.
[1]UNESCO, “Education for All,” para. 2, 4.
[2]Jacobi and Schweers, “Female Supreme Court,” para. 1.