Stiletto Nation: Big government threatens women’s progress

Perhaps sexism isn’t at the root of these statistics, but the potential for government to favor one set of businesses over another should give feminists pause.  Undoubtedly, activists at the National Organization for Women will view these numbers as grist to push specific carve-outs for women.  Yet this would be equally corrupt and counter-productive.  Even if some politically-connected female business leaders succeed in accessing more government funding, women overall will still be worse off in a system that rewards attributes other than efficiency and performance.

Few Americans care about the sex of the person that sells them groceries and clothes, fixes their house, or services their computer. Consumers just want high quality, good service at a low cost.  For the most part, the free market is gender-blind.  This is to women’s benefit, since women are perfectly capable of competing and succeeding on a level playing field.

Those who want women’s progress to continue should push for government to get out of the way of the private sector, create clear rules, and stop picking winners and losers among businesses and industries.  A growing, dynamic, free economy is the key to women’s success.

Carrie Lukas is the Vice President for Policy and Economics at the Independent Women’s Forum.  This is the first in a weekly fall series discussing women’s issues from the Independent Women’s Forum.