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Dee Dee Myers is the author of "Why Women Should Rule the World," but if you expected a feminist rant this week when she spoke at Elon University, you'd be wrong.

"I like men," said Myers, who is married and the mother of two children. "(The book) is not an attack on men."

Myers was the first woman to serve as White House press secretary. Bill Clinton occupied the Oval Office, and Myers was the administration's press spokesperson. She was smart, witty and worked well with the male-dominated White House press corps.

Despite her book's attention-grabbing title, her theme is reasonable, not radical: "If there were more women in power, the world would be a better place," she told the Elon University audience.

Why? Because women and men are different. Women bring different strengths, different perspectives, different problem-solving skills and different reactions to issues and crises. Women leaders might be less inclined to invade countries (think George Bush and Iraq). They also might be more responsible with taxpayers' money (think the current recession).

Myers' book is based on interviews and surveys, including biological studies, that confirm differences between women's and men's behavior.

For example, studies show that women are more cautious about making financial investments. Men, by contrast, are more inclined to take financial risks.

Which makes you wonder if the current economic recession might have been lessened if more women had controlled the levers of economic power on Wall Street and Main Street. Yet women comprise only 5 percent of the CEOs of large companies, Myers said.

And politics? "We broaden the scope of issues," Myers said. For example, women are more likely to champion social justice and environmental issues. Yet women comprise only 17 percent of Congress.

Myers is a Democrat but praised both Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton, saying they put big cracks in the so-called glass ceiling during the 2008 political campaign. They made it easier for women in the future to run for high office.

After all, Clinton was the first woman ever to win a presidential primary, and Palin was only the second to be a vice presidential candidate. They set precedents for women to aim high and for voters to be more accepting of women candidates.

Myers said both Clinton and Palin showed "great resiliency" during the campaign. They never folded despite withering criticism and physical exhaustion. They were determined "to get up when you got knocked down."

Palin and Clinton were subjected to a scrutiny about their hair, their wardrobe, their motherhood that male candidates did not endure. There was even a Web site devoted to Hillary's hair.

Double standards abounded during the campaign, Myers said. For example, Sen. John McCain was asked this question about Hillary Clinton at a political rally: "How do we beat the bitch?" Instead of denouncing the man for calling Clinton a "bitch," McCain replied, "That's a good question." By contrast, McCain did denounce the person who made a racist remark about the male candidate, Barack Obama.

During the campaign, Palin, who has five children, was sharply criticized for being a neglectful mother because she was off campaigning. Obama, who has two young children, was never accused of being a neglectful father because he was campaigning, Myers noted.

But politics is merely one area of gender discrimination. Years ago, symphony orchestras were largely dominated by men. Blind auditions helped change that imbalance, Myers said. Today, most major orchestras use a screen to separate auditioning musician from judges. It's talent, not gender, that matters. Myers said that women in orchestras have increased fivefold.

But women must learn to change their own attitudes, Myers said. Studies show that women don't assert themselves enough for fear we'll be perceived as "tough." They don't think they're smart enough even when they earn an award ("I don't deserve it.") And unlike men, they're less inclined to ask for salary raises.

So what will it take for women to change the culture? Attitudes will change, Myers said, when more women occupy high places in the political, corporate and professional worlds.

"The more women there are in these positions, the more we will change the culture." And, by extension, change the world for the better.

Rosemary Roberts writes a column for the News & Record on alternate Fridays. E-mail: Rmroberts@triad.rr.com