“Women and men all over the world are, for the first time in such large numbers, frontally challenging the male-dominator/female-dominated human relations model that is the foundation of a dominator worldview. At the same time the idea. . . of seeing the ‘the other’ as ‘the enemy’ is also being challenged. There is, most significantly, a growing awareness that the emerging higher consciousness of our global ‘partnership’ is integrally related to a fundamental reexamination and transformation of the roles of both women and men.”

-The Chalice and the Blade, by Riane Eisler, HarperSan Francisco, 1989

It is of vital importance that more and more of us internalize the fact that for 95% or more of the time that the ancestors of today’s homo sapiens, today’s human beings, walked the earth, from about 300,000 years ago until now, archaeological and other research shows that women and men cooperated in the decision-making about how to survive and develop. There are places in the world, particularly among indigenous people who have resisted corporate domination, where this is still the case. In these historical and present day societies, women had power and were/are affirmatively appreciated by men.

We need to understand that the last 6-7,000 years of human history are an aberration. Prior to that time, when women and men generally lived in cooperative ways, human societies were not about oppression, domination, exploitation and murderous wars. And even during this later period, there have been repeated and constant movements and organized efforts for a very different way of human interaction and economic development, for much more just and liberating societies.

My first personal experience with the rising women’s movement of that time was in the late 1960’s, at college. Having dinner with my then-girlfriend, someone who I liked an awful lot, she glared at and walked out on me, never to go out on a date with me again at college, because I made fun of her having joined a women’s consciousness-raising and support group. At the time these forms of organizing were developing around the country, growing in large part out of the experiences and insights of women who had been part of the civil rights/Black Freedom movement of the 1960’s.

My next memorable experience was in 1971 when I was serving out an 18-month prison sentence for anti-Vietnam-war draft resistance actions as part of the Catholic Left. After I was moved from a federal youth prison in Ashland, Kentucky to a medium-security prison in Danbury, Ct., I became part of a twice-weekly book discussion group organized by Fathers Dan and Phil Berrigan. The primary book we read and discussed when I was there was Sisterhood Is Powerful, an anthology of articles edited by Robin Morgan. I have no memory of anything specific that we read and discussed, but there’s no question it had an impact on me.

Ever since I have tried to be an anti-sexist and a woman-supporting man. I have done what I could to point out sexist (and racist and heterosexist) comments and attitudes on the part of men I am talking or working with. I make no claims to have always been the kind of person I would like to be in this respect but I do know that I have grown as a human being and become a more just and loving person because of what I have learned.

Of course, sexism and heterosexism aren’t just something to be changed by individual transformation. These negative ideologies and practices are reflected in government and business laws and customs in societies all over the world, still. This is despite progress that has been made over the last 50 years thanks to the words, actions and organizing of millions upon millions of women, and some men.

The Trumpfascists are very misogynist. They are clearly trying to turn the clock back many decades. “Male-dominated,” as well as white- and very rich-dominated, is synonymous with a big majority of Trump cabinet and top government posts. Forbes Magazine in its August 21, 2025 issue reported that “Federal job cuts [under Trump] are disproportionately impacting women of all ages and career stages. The Trump administration projects a reduction of 300,000 federal jobs this year. . . Women represent roughly half of federal employees and have higher representation in the agencies targeted for cuts. These administrative actions threaten not only women’s jobs but also their career growth, retirement security and financial stability.”

Given the fact that women make up about ½ of the US and world population, on practical grounds alone, it is without a doubt that as more and more women rise up, speak out and get organized in defense of their rights and freedoms and all peoples’ rights and freedoms, organized women willl be an essential component of a successful popular movement for systemic, progressive change.

 Ted Glick has been a progressive activist and organizer since 1968. He is the author of two books, Burglar for Peace and 21^st Century Revolution, published in 2020 and 2021 and both available at https://pmpress.org . More info can be found at https://tedglick.com.