Merci hops up on a soapbox...she hated these things, they were so damn cheap they tended to cave in on her...and brought forth a topic she hadn't seen personally in recent times, but was mighty curious about.

"Yeah so, I'd like to hear what folks think about women in charge. I know, it's the '30's, and women should be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, yadda yadda.

"But seriously. If one manages to break through that glass ceiling and earn herself a position as a crew leader, what are your personal takes on that? As a male counterpart, are you rolling your eyes and assuming she slept with the right people? And as a young mafioso fresh off the boat...how do you feel about the recruitment efforts when they come from the fairer sex? Lastly, I'd like to hear from you ladies holding the position. How do you want to be treated? The same? Differently? 

I'm rather curious about that last bit. One of the fellas in the crew got himself in a spot of trouble and sent my boss...a kitten. A fucking kitten! Would he have done that if his boss was male? Although, to be fair...he probably wouldn't have hit on her in the first place to even earn that slap, but we're all waiting with baited breath to see how all that pans out...

Merci hops down and eagerly awaits any responses tossed her way from the passersby.

There's actually quite a few leaders who are women.

Shantelle was picking dirt out of her nails as she listened. She just couldn't manage not to do the dirty work herself since she always wanted it done right. As she flicked the flecks of dirt away from her she thought about women in this community. Shrugging a little she spoke up.

I pretty much think it's just about the same as males really, it really depends on the person. Take away sex from the equation and each person will have their own attitudes, thoughts and personalities. Some women can be great in leadership roles, some not so much. Some men are exactly the same way.

I am not entirely sure women are the fairer sex. They have learned many hard lessons that sometimes they have to fight dirtier, be willing to get their hands dirty and do whatever it takes to prove themselves. Some do, some may do as you are wondering about, sleep their way to the top. Who can really say? Whatever happens to get someone to the position they are in, that is technically between them and whoever gave them permission to set up. I prefer to think most people, men and women alike, would earn their positions with good old fashioned hard work, dedication and loyalty.

Pausing to consider the kitten thing she began to wonder.

Did the kitten work? If I should ever get in trouble I would like to know if it worked so I can have baskets full of kittens just in case.

CS had decided to 'borrow' a pair of Anteros ' high heels, her red lipstick and that stunningly beautiful dress in her wardrobe. It was long, black and made from silk softer than the cute little kitten waiting for her back in The Cookie Factory. Sadly, CS had a schedule to follow. It was tightly packed with having to cook dinner, clean the HQ and feeding adorable cats, young and old, with milk and cookies. Although she knew it was not healthy for them, they all seemed to like it. 

"In my opinion, women should not be treated differently from men in this world of ours. I do not want to be treated differently just because I am a female. I bet some people try to take advantage of it once in a while - flirting their way to a new promotion - but it is definitely not everyone here. Well, at least not from my experience."

"Like Shantelle said so well, people should not be granted permission to set up judging by their gender, but by their effort and loyalty. I do not believe gender has much to say around here. Just because you are a woman - or a man - does not mean you are better nor worse than the other one. It simply depends on your ability to lead."

She was just about to wander off when she reconsidered that last part about the kitten.

"Despite my love for kittens and cute little animals, I do not believe it should have an impact on the situation you are currently in. Unless, of course, that certain crew member is attempting to cheer you up or simply want to make you happy. It helps almost every time! Sometimes even more if they bring you a couple of cookies and a glass of milk as well. That is just me, of course. I doubt anyone else can love cookies as much as I do."

With that said, CS thought it was a good idea to return the stolen stuff to Anteros so she would not wonder where all of her things went. Perhaps she would not even notice the crumbs in the dress or the lipstick...

Honestly to be successful in what can be a very robust world means you have to have balls, now don't misunderstand me I am talking balls of a different kind to those that male of the species carry around tucked inside their trousers. Men or women leading a crew and say nothing, do next to nothing, don't make the tough choices when needed or only are seen singing and counting butterflies or picking petals off daisies are not going to get respect from anyone.

Do I want to be treated differently from a man - not at all, do I want to be treated differently to a man with no 'balls' - hell yeah! Measure the man or the woman on their metaphorical balls I say!

I also think for those savvy females amongst us there are many resources available to us when met with the 'awww cute you're a woman trying your little best to do what the real men should be doing' sometimes charging direct at this claim like a bull on heat will no give a good outcome and may even inadvertently reinforce the claim you are trying to address. For example if one of my crew had sent me a kitten you can be sure that thing would have been held at gun point and used as a means to encourage that member to do little extra jobs for me or the pussy gets it - so to speak...!

There are subtle differences in the way men and women sometime in crew leader roles talk and act but in my view that just adds to the diversity in this world of ours. In this era though I do feel the responsibility lies with women to learn to talk the right way in what is predominantly a mans world....we are back to those balls again I am afraid! If you need to have a difficult or robust conversation with someone - do it! Do it clearly and with confidence, be direct and be bold. 'Fluffy' leaders of any gender in my opinion get nowhere rather fast.

I look around and do see several of us female crew leaders carrying around our metaphorical balls each day and maybe some of the male crew leaders also might need to make a Christmas wish to get a pair wrapped up in lovely paper decorated with pictures of butterflies, flowers and a cuddly kitten.

walks away mult-tasking by smoking and juggling her metaphorical balls....

Mattsr was out for a stroll when he overheard something about a kitten, amused, he stopped to listen and unusually for him, he found himself drawn into the conversation.

"In my opinion Equality is a tiresome subject that shouldn't receive the attention it does, It takes everyone to the bottom rungs of the ladder, for that is the only way equality can be achieved. The smarter thing to do would be to keep things naturally unequal, but raise the standards so that everything moves upwards, thus leaving the bottom rungs of the ladder are left vacant.

The only thing that I feel should be equal is opportunity, this way everyone has an opportunity to shine in one way or another and it doesn't matter what gender you are, all that matters is you put in effort and achieved something"

Tom stepped forward through the crowd, he loved being amongst all these successful women and CookieSandwich.

So far, Tom had always been a true gentlemen and people never heard a single bad word on the streets out of his mouth.

..Yet..

This ridiculously liberal mind was going to hold a speech about female emancipation, about voting rights, feminism, amateur-abortion and he would make a statement to break those glass ceilings for all these strong women that, if all was well, had just cleaned their homes, cooked and served their men and were now gathering here in front of Merci between dinner and dishwashing.

He scraped his throat as he stepped up, before he metaphorically slipped over the metaphorical balls Anteros had dropped and he knocked himself out before outing a single word.

Maybe the streets weren't ready for Tom's views yet?

Shady_Sam takes a puff onto one of his common cigarettes, letting the smoke exhale through his nose as he approaches the subject with caution. 

"If we are all being honest with ourselves, most of us within this life of ours are far more progressive than the common rabble of our current era. Rational thought dictates a few things, and hopefully I don't come across as a bigot for speaking my mind. Firstly, it's not accurate to say women are equal to men. Not in a status or equality manner, but simple physical and mental traits that differentiate them apart. Women tend to be suited much better for networking and positions where they have to interact with people, whereas men are excellent manual labor. Could a man be successful as a human relations officer or could a woman preform well as a construction worker? Of course, however they will likely have to work that much harder to make up the differences. 

Secondly, we have to look at the specific position. Being a Crew Leader means that not only are you expected to lead, you are equally expected to manage yourself and the crew that follows you. Generally, men held such positions because in the past due to a variety of reasons, but nowadays women's rights have progressed tremendously and have allowed women to take jobs and roles within society and the work force that is unprecedented. Hell, in some cases, they even surpassed their male counterparts. 

Looking through my family's journals, there's one lady that towers over all the others. Marietta. Nearly a decade ago, her and ThomasRourke ruled over Detroit and New York respectively. They defeated all that challenged their rule and held an alliance that endured throughout time. She was a wonderful leader that formed a personal relationship with each of her subordinates, ran a tight and efficient ship and worked far harder than anyone else. She helped form an era of peace that was only broken when she finally decided to retire, ending her reign on her own accord. Women like such are few, I would even find it difficult to compare men to such a standard that she set back in the old times."

Shady_Sam flicks his cigarette bud to the ground, snuffing out the ashes with a quick stomp. 

"I believe women have what it takes to be crew leaders and they should be respected the same as any other crew leader. No more, and no less. I'd say that they have to work even harder to overcome the mentality that women are weak or ill-suited for leadership, and those that are able to do so are even stronger than the bigots that challenge them based on their assets." 

Disorder listened to the discussion. When several participants had spoken he went over and shook Merci's hand.

"Thanks for bringing this topic to the streets. Some interesting responses for sure. Thankfully none of the general population's attitude, saying 'Men's brains are bigger, its just science'.

This thing of ours is somewhat unique in terms of equality. Given we live in an time where women are oppressed and stepped over in all walks of life, our world sees no such discrimination. Indeed if you look through our history and at our current situation, there are a large number of prominent leaders and highly influential women in our line of work. Some very respected bloodlines and some highly effective mobsters. 

My own journals tell of numerous generations working for and in some cases dying for, fine women leaders. Godfathers, Crew Leaders, Hitsquad leaders, you name it. My blood have been very fortunate to work with a lot highly capable women. I'm very pleased that our world, far exceeds the real world for balance in terms of gender. In this thing, if you are good enough, you are good enough. I personally find that very refreshing." 

Insane  does not have a soap box or cigarette but does posses the finest strain of cannabis. So not to impair the thought process on this topic, the joint will have to wait.

Gender should NOT be an issue. Yet it is an issue. A hidden one by men in many instances.  It is no wonder some women hide their gender. Kudos to those who do not hide their gender.

Kage was laying on a nearby bench hat covering his face to block out the sun, having been woken by all the noise nearby on the streets. Good points were made all around, non better though than the exchanging of words a few feet from the bench. Sitting up Kage puts his hat back atop his head blinking against the now unfamiliar sunlight.

"Godfather Disorder is correct, men's brains are not bigger than women's brains. But most men's egos are eclipsing compared to their female counterparts.

Jokes aside, I had been told stories growing up of the days of old. all era's have there great leaders, a great deal of those leaders were women. one in particular from around the time my family first landed on these shores. A Godmother to be feared above all else, its said that she managed to kill an entire city single handed. Doubtful it was single handed, what i do not doubt is if we could stand the test of time and avoid ageing she would still be alive and in control of her beloved city today.

Male or Female it shouldn't matter, what should matter is what we have in the space between our ears and how we use it to our advantage..... also bringing in loads of cash and sweets never hurt."

Kage tipped his hat to Godfather Disorder and the lovely Merci before turning to walk into the suns direction, but that thing is BRIGHT! he turned back towards his company and with a grin walked backwards into the suns blinding light

Reggie walks out into the streets with a bewildered look upon his face, the "Is he lost" whispers ring out as he passes through the crowd, as he makes his way to the front he smoke the last drag of the generic cigarette, tosses it on the floor and does the twist, he opens his mouth to speak and dribble falls out..

"My crew leader is a woman, I've racked my brain over this on many occasions but then my split personality tells me to stop wearing a dress because I am the crew leader. In this world of ours, man, woman or dog in some cases as a crew leader we should command respect no matter what, there's nothing between us and I agree maybe people should be a bit more respectful to the women of our community, the random inappropriate messages  shouldn't exist and that's not because she's a crewleader, but because some guys around here are just straight up creepy and every woman shouldn't be subjected  to that. In this decade we've had some very prominent women from  Jane Addams has become first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize up here in our beautiful Chicago working with the poor to  Amelia Earhart becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean on her own, and lest we forget  Frances Perkins is appointed secretary of labor, 
becoming the first woman U.S. cabinet member. That being said, the world is changing, Respect each other on their abilities and not their gender or species..I've actually lost my way and I'm unsure if this is relevant anymore as I'm waffling on..Soz"

Reggies runs off into the shadows, avoiding the streets until another full moon.