To watch girls play soccer is to see female confidence at its peak. They run the field, hair whipping in the wind and feet dancing around the ball. When they fall, they leap back up.

They cheer their teammates; they celebrate each other. They are fearless.

The future seems limitless. Unfortunately, they don’t know what awaits them.

These 8- to 9-year-olds believe in their power; they’ve yet to experience the systematic devaluing of women by men who actually hold the power. They haven’t questioned why people in authority — from the umpires to the president — are male.

They can’t stay up late enough to watch “Saturday Night Live” so they didn’t hear comedian Shane Gillis say that women who go to the gym dress like whores.

They don’t read, listen to or watch the news. They don’t know about the Cornell Seven or the Epstein files.

They haven’t learned their bodily autonomy has been taken away by the Supreme Court. They haven’t heard about the closing of maternity wards across Illinois or that funding for family planning has been slashed. These are girls who haven’t yet menstruated.

When they grow up, they will likely earn less than their male counterparts and hold fewer seats in government and less power in corporate leadership. As women, they may be discriminated against and berated.

Their current president uses disparaging language to describe women, words such as “nasty,” “horseface,” “dummy,” “piggy” and “bimbo” — to name only a few. Then there was the “Access Hollywood” tape in which he used aggressive and lewd language to describe how he can do anything he wants with women.

Over 20 women have accused the president of sexual assault, but only one, E. Jean Carroll, triumphed against him in a civil case.

Overly competent women — presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris — lost to Donald Trump, a chronically incompetent man, who then proceeded to hire inept men and women. Somehow, men survive his administration while he fires his chosen women.

Recently he ousted Kimberly Guilfoyle from her position as ambassador to Greece after she asked a Trump supporter to play her $100,000 American Express bill. A recent press secretary, Katie Zacharia, holds the distinction of the shortest tenure in history for that position, lasting only five days.

What would happen if more women were in charge? Television and movies illustrate female leaders capable of achieving greatness as well as making mistakes.

Recall the “Black Panther” film series, which showcases a country named Wakanda. There, female leaders such as Queen Mother Ramonda, played by Angela Bassett, and her daughter Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright) are not only leaders but also warriors.

On Netflix’s “The Diplomat,” Allison Janney ascends to the White House as the polarizing President Grace Penn. “I feel proud to step into the role of a president of the United States in a country that has not been able to elect a female president,” Janney said.

While men dominate worldwide political power, more than a third of United Nations member countries have been led by a woman. Those nations are more likely to invest in health and education.

Iceland, long a leader in gender equality, subsidizes childcare, legislates equal wages, gives paid parental leave to both men and women, and has a gender equality act that includes a quota for women on boards.

The country not only promotes women, but it also fosters equality for the LGBTQ communities.

Late feminist icon Gloria Steinem said in March, “We live in a democracy that’s one of the few in the world that’s never had a female elected leader. That’s kind of ridiculous. I mean, we’re choosing from half the country’s talent.”

In an interview after Steinem died Sept. 2, former Secretary of State Clinton urged girls to not get discouraged. “It really is up to the generation that follows, and the generation that follows that one,” she said. “I have a granddaughter now, and I don’t want her to have fewer rights that I did, and I’m hoping that young women realize that the fight is worth it.”

With Trump’s approval rating at an all-time low, voters may decide it’s time to make changes.

A record number of women are on the ballot this year. The Nov. 3 midterms will decide whether more women will join Congress. Currently, they make up 28% in the House of Representatives.

Soon the fathers, mothers and grandparents cheering girls’ soccer teams will exchange their uncomfortable folding chairs for the hard bleacher seats of indoor soccer or basketball. They will continue to cheer for their young athletes.

And if they want to support their girls’ futures, they will vote Nov. 3 to make the country a more gender-equitable place.

As long as men are in power, the United States will remain a patriarchy where the value of women is diminished, female victims are not believed and institutions aren’t held accountable.

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Christine Ledbetter is a former senior arts editor at The Washington Post who lives in Illinois, where she writes about culture and politics.

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