Barack Obama Says Things 'Would Be Better' If There Were More Women in Charge

Barack Obama gave his take on the idea of an all-female U.S. government, saying he doesn't doubt that it'd be "better" than the male-centric government the United States has had for 250 years.

"If you put women in charge of every government for like, two years, and saw how things were goin', I have a strong belief that things — they wouldn't be perfect, but they'd be better," Obama said to a round of applause from a college crowd.

The 65-year-old president made the comment in discussion with Doris Kearns Goodwin on September 21.

In addition to his thoughts about a world governed by women, Obama spoke about the current political climate.

"Obviously, today, we are rife with divisions, and our democracy seems broken in so many ways — and the tenor and tone of the times feel mean-spirited," he said. "We have gone through times like this before. I believe we can get out of them."

"We aren't as divided as we seem at the ground level. We're not as divided as our politics or our media would indicate. The loud, noisy, polarized dialogue is, in part, manufactured for a variety of interests," he added.

Obama has made similar arguments before. During a 2019 talk in Singapore, he repeated the argument that two years of female governments would increase living standards and improve other outcomes.

Women's rights were a huge focus of Obama's presidency. The first bill he signed in 2009 after assuming office was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which allowed workers to challenge discriminatory pay practices.

In March 2009, he created the White House Council on Women and Girls through an executive order. The council was specifically focused on making sure women's issues were considered when the government developed programs, policies and legislative proposals.

During his September 21 talk, he jokingly suggested that the university should next invite his wife, Michelle Obama, to speak.

"She's better than I am," he joked.

Barack also said that he is focused on bringing fresh voices into politics.

"I'm very big right now on getting folks who are younger than me," he said.

The 44th president has made occasional public appearances in his post-presidential life. He explained in a New Yorker piece earlier this year that he opts to speak sparingly to emphasize the moments he does choose to speak up.

“For me to function like Jon Stewart, even once a week, just going off, just ripping what was happening — which, by the way, I’m glad Jon’s doing it — then I’m not a political leader, I’m a commentator,” he said.

However, in the same piece, he noted he continues to do work that doesn't necessarily grab headlines.

“The media environment is so difficult that people don’t even know all the stuff I am doing, right?” he told The New Yorker. “And, I think, when they do see me, then the sense is, ‘Well, why isn’t he doing that every day instead of just during a midterm election, or during a referendum campaign around gerrymandering, or what have you?’”