The settlement of Mars will be the first time in recorded history that women will have the chance to take a full leadership role in the migration to and exploration of a new world. I have little doubt that in the prehistoric past, in cases where gathering has been more important than hunting in sustaining nomadic groups, that women may have led migrations, but we have no record of those. I hope that equal numbers of men and women will take part in the Mars venture.Who will command the first voyage, or pilot the first lander? The choice should rightly go to the best qualified individual, female or male. We want the best possible chances of success. But half the human race has been excluded from those roles in the past, so I do hope at last that a woman gets the pick. Of one thing I am sure, however, that when it comes to choosing the first person to set a human foot on the Red Planet, it must be that of a woman, even if some man seems better qualified. There can be no justification for giving half the human race the short end of the stick again.
Should we be concerned about the ethnicity of the first person to take a step on the Red Planet? Symbolism can be important, of course. But what birthright to choose? I think that may be better left to chance, before we become too politically correct. As long as there is no remaining prejudice in favour of a wasp background involved in the choice, I would be content. But the gender issue seems to me to be too obvious to ignore.
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