If you are reading this blog you already know that I am passionate about the need for more women's leadership in business, politics, education, healthcare, philanthropy, and at home. America cannot lead the world into the future if we continue to marginalize women at work and/or at home. True leaders know that diversity provides opportunity for significant perspective. So why isn't progress being made more than 167 years after the beginning of the women's movement?

As a former newspaper reporter, owner and publisher, I know better than most that this issue is an annual puff piece that rolls out in the newsroom at least once a year and ignites the interest of well-intentioned editorial boards and reporters to call upon male executives, women's groups and women's rights advocates to respond. Three days later the subject lags and is put back on the shelf for another year. The statistics reach the headlines during those three days and pundits pontificate on the progress 'within our grasp'. Of course, nothing changes except that a few previously unknown women in business are given an opportunity to share their stories of success. Can you imagine? Like the tree in the forest that falls and is never heard, successful women in business are never heard about unless their climb just happens to apex with the annual story on women's leadership progress. Fortunately, every two or three years a book on women's leadership progress is published - I know because I wrote one in late 2007 - and the unimpressive statistics are reported again and explained again. Of course, the numbers don't change much and the reader may asked why a new book was written, but the answer is most likely a person such as Sheryl Sandberg just couldn't take it anymore and decided to make her mark as best she could (that book - Lean In - was published in March 2013) (my book HER TURN: Why It's Time For Women To Lead in America was published September 2007).

So, this blog is not a rehash of women in business leadership numbers in the executive suite or on corporate boards. You can easily google the topic and learn the facts for yourself. The real purpose of this blog is to explain why I believe this is an issue that will continue to get passed along for years down the road guaranteeing that tomorrow will be no different that today or even yesterday unless a dramatic change takes place.

Last weekend I had a conversation with a CEO of a very successful engineering company who has known me for more than 35 years. He asked me if I was still working to get women in business advanced. He confessed that he had done his best by promoting women as often as possible but, his words "they kept leaving to have a family." I suggested that perhaps many of the men he had promoted had families as well, but that the company culture treated their circumstances differently. He paused before speaking and then let me add, "Have you noticed how differently your millennial employees view the corporate climb?" I got his attention. Then I added. "If only men could get pregnant too. Do you think that would change how your company and others look at family-friendly policies?" My 70 year-old male CEO friend got it. Having worked 60 or more hour work weeks for decades, he is now spending more time with his second wife, grown children and grandchildren. He sees clearly that the millennial generation cares more about finding purpose in their personal life then in betting their future on long hours working for 'the man'. Yes, this generation of workers, male and female, may finally be the straw that breaks the proverbial camel's back when it comes to whether work or family takes priority. Companies of all types will have to react to the change.

Of course, I could be wrong about this as many generations before me have been disappointed by the changes they predicted for the future for American women in business. And, therefore if we can't depend on millennials to shake up leadership, we will have no choice but to proceed with Plan B. What is Plan B you ask? It's time that the medical community works on giving men the opportunity to birth babies. This is the only way I can truly see gender equality for our future.

 Barbie is a Registered Trademark of Mattel.

Just after the publishing of this blog, Netflix announced its new maternity and paternity policy allowing men and women to take up to one year off with full pay after the birth or adoption of a child.Please read further http://techcrunch.com/2015/08/04/netflix-announces-its-new-unlimited-maternity-and-paternity-leave-program/