Project these trends out, say, twenty years, and it is clear that women are building for themselves a significant advantage over men in the workplace. According to a report in Bloomberg Businessweek, current trends suggest that by 2020, 61 percent of all college graduates will be women. The magazine writes that “the education grab by girls is amazing news, which could make the 21st the first female century. Already, women are rapidly closing the M.D. and PhD gap and are on the verge of making up the majority of law students, according to the American Bar Assn.”

None of this generates much public-policy focus or concern. As Andrew Sum, director of the Northeastern University Center for Labor Market Studies, says, “No one wants to speak out on behalf of boys.” He adds that as a social-policy or educational issue, “it’s near nonexistent.”

So here we have the thought police sanctioning a corporate executive for insufficient regard for their gender-inequality obsession when current statistics and long-term trends demonstrate that their obsession represents an entirely bogus issue. Young Will McKinley’s wizened mentor had it right. The best way to get ahead is through consistent performance. Good advice for the country, too.

Robert W. Merry is political editor of The National Interest and the author of books on American history and foreign policy. His most recent book is Where They Stand: The American Presidents in the Eyes of Voters and Historians.

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