No, women are not the new men. Women always have had the capacity to do most of the things men can do, and better yet, in high heels. What is new is that people are finally discovering the new and more prominent role of women in our society.

We see it in all walks of life, from business to politics to the media. We see more and more women as CEOs of major corporations, and more and more women elected and appointed to high government posts. Women are more likely than men to graduate from college, and account for half of those who earn graduate degrees.

In this day and age, the question of whether this country is ready to see women in high places should be considered an insult to the collective intelligence of our society. Our role as the only superpower left in the world requires a level of maturity and civility in which neither sexism nor racism should exist.

No one ever should ask again if the Supreme Court is ready for a Latina, for example. Justice Sonia Sotomayor has proved that a wise Latina who beat the odds is just as capable as any man of upholding the law and interpreting the Constitution. No one ever should ask again if our country is ready for a woman president. If Hillary Clinton did not win the Democratic nomination, it certainly was not because she was not capable of running the country. And no one should be asking whether this country is ready to get its news from a woman. Diane Sawyer's promotion to anchor of ABC's nightly news is a natural. Katie Couric and many others, myself included, have dispelled the notion that women in the anchor chair lack credibility because of our gender.

The changing role of women in our society has taken center stage these days, with the release of a report by California's first lady Maria Shriver and the Center for American Progress: “A Woman's Nation Changes Everything.” The report reveals some fascinating facts about how women are changing the face of our country and how those changes have an impact not only on government, businesses, health institutions and education, but also on family life and household responsibilities.

The Shriver Report shows that for the first time ever, women are on the verge of outnumbering men in the work force. The phenomenon is attributed to the recession and the fact that some of the industries that mainly employ men are the hardest hit by the economy, but also to the changing role of women as wage earners, even though women still make 78 cents to the dollar men earn for the same work.

Some experts are predicting that when the economy turns around, this trend will reverse and men will once again be the major work force in our country, but the Shriver Report puts a damper on that theory by showing that in 63 percent of American households, women already are the primary breadwinners or co-breadwinners, and 70 percent of men say they are comfortable having women work outside the home.

Women are not the new men. Men still have a way to go before they can catch up to women's multitasking abilities. But there is no doubt that the battle of the sexes is taking on a new meaning, where expectations and responsibilities both at home and in the workplace have to be re-examined. Nevertheless, young ladies are lucky to be living in an age when so many women have paved the way for them to take their rightful place in society.

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(Maria Elena Salinas is the author of “I AM MY FATHER'S DAUGHTER: LIVING A LIFE WITHOUT SECRETS.” Reach her at www .mariaesalinas.com)

© 2009 by Maria Elena Salinas

Distributed by King Features Syndicate