What are the Odds?

Is it just ME, or would you be disappointed to learn that among the 100 Most Influential People of All Time (TIME), there are only _______ women ?

Go ahead, take a guess… how many women do you think are listed among the 100 most influential people of all time?  Think of a number… we’ll see how you did in a few minutes.

I’ve always loved book stores – real book stores.  Not the ones you hold in your hands, the ones that hold you in the depth and breadth of their shelves, high ceilings, brightly colored covers, well-designed displays.  You know, an old fashioned book store with a peculiar, yet pleasing, a smell all its own.  Good times!

(It just reminded me of a cute movie with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks.  She owns a tiny neighborhood book store and he is a mega-book store developer.  He’s about to put her out of business, they fall in love….  Cute moves:  “You’ve Got Mail”.  Great rainy Saturday, down-time movie… but I digress.)

So, true to my nature, I bought TIME’S special edition book, eager to break the spine and turn the pages for the first time.  Pictures first, of course.

I was curious… alphabetically; it spanned Abraham, of Old Testament fame, to the Wright Brothers.  On the timeline, it went from Abraham to Steve Jobs.  It included spiritual leaders, explorers, philosophers, inventors, world leaders, and yes, the Beatles.  Yeah, Yeah, Yeah – YEAH!

Though a big fan of both, I don’t often think of Jesus Christ and Mohammad Ali (formerly known as Cassius Clay) in the same sentence; probably not in the same conversation; both included.

I turned page after page.  Then, I went back to the table of contents.  I began to count. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10!  That was it!  Just 10 women included.  10!  (How far off was your guess?)

These 10 awesome women include Joan of Arc (The name of the Church in which my parents were married and my two older brothers Baptized.  I can still close my eyes and see the huge mural of St. Joan in battle.  As a little girl, I thought the picture was of a boy.  Oh boy!)

Blessed Mother Teresa, Saint of the Gutters (do you recall that she died shortly after Princess Diana?)  About a year later, my then 5-year-old nephew, who always associated Princess Diana with Mother Teresa because of the timing of their deaths, referred to Mother Teresa as “The Other Princess”.  Don’t you love it – AND understand it?), Native American Sacagawea, Researcher, Madame Marie Curie, Queen Isabella I of Spain, Queen Elizabeth I of England,  American Suffrage Crusader Emmeline Pankhurst, Irish-American Freedom Fighter Margaret Sanger (she coined the phrase birth-control!), Chivalry Patron Eleanor of Aquitaine,  and she who is referred to as history’s first superstar: Cleopatra.

That’s it;  10!   Only 10% of those recognized as being among the 100 most influential people of ALL time are woman.

Let us not forget that behind every one of those 100 was a woman; a Mother. And let us never forget that the hand that has rocked the cradle has formed and steered the world, and so it goes.  NOW, THAT’S INFLUENCE!

And to you and to every woman: never forget what your role in life is.  None of us is likely to be included in TIME’S next edition of this book – anyway, it’s just their opinion.  Yet, it is what women of leadership do in supporting our spouses, our partners, our children, workplaces, and communities that give hope to the future of what will continue to influence all of mankind.

Being a woman in today’s world is not always easy.  It is, however, a role to be proud of, to be admired, to be respected.  

I wonder what words of wisdom Confucius would offer of today’s woman. (BTW, he made the top 100 as Moral Philosopher). 

Of women, The Dali Lama (didn’t make the cut) has said it is (western) women who will save the world (no pressure!).

And do you know why Jesus Christ performed his first public miracle at the Wedding Feast of Cana?  Because his Mother asked him!  (a good Jewish son!) 

So, IS it just me, or are you surprised that only 1 in 10 of the top 100 is a woman?  Oh, wait… can that mean it takes 10 men to equal a woman?  Just a mathematical calculation!!

P.S. and to you, my dear Mother…. thanks.  You definitely make the top 10 in my book!

Please comment and share the names and stories of some of the women who have changed the world - for you.  Thanks!