National Geographic Live: When Women Ruled the World

With a record number of women entering Congress this January (plus a majority of women entering the Washington State House), it makes sense to review the legacy of female rule. Do women govern differently than men? If so, how? Or is the question too loaded with sophistry and essentialism to take seriously? But even if it is, what's the answer!? Professor and Egyptologist Kara Cooney says she has one. In a spectacular NatGeo Live event, Cooney takes us back to ancient Egypt, where women like Cleopatra, Nefertiti, and Nerusobek led one of the most advanced civilizations of antiquity. "When there was a political crisis, the ancient Egyptians chose a woman time and again to fill the power vacuum—precisely because she was the least risky option," she writes in National Geographic. "For the ancient Egyptians, placing women in power was often the best protection for the patriarchy in times of uncertainty." Find out how these women navigated those uncertain times, and learn what they have to teach us about surviving our present political moment.