Winning moves

So the Miss America pageant is dropping the objectifying swimsuit competition it has held every year since 1921. That’s good. What’s better is why it’s happening. Women now hold the top three positions of power at the Miss America Organization. That welcome shakeup occurred after a scandal last December, where officials were caught denigrating winners’ intelligence, appearance and sex lives.

While last week’s move may not go far enough for many who think the entire pageant should be scrapped, it’s a symbolic step that demonstrates the positive change women can achieve when they’re sitting in the corner offices and around the boardroom table.

The organization’s leaders have contemplated this change for 20 years, but it took a majority of women at the top to make it happen.

“Tons of young people (have) said to me, ‘I’d love to be a part of that program, but I don’t want to parade around in a swimsuit,’ ” the head of the board, Gretchen Carlson, said.

If her name sounds familiar, it’s because her sexual-harassment suit against Fox News chairperson Roger Ailes led to his departure.

That points to another reason the swimsuit competition was dropped. In the time of the #MeToo movement, women are less willing to acquiesce to objectionable things.

There’s even been some chipping away at another sexist pillar of society: professional sports teams hiring women to jump around in barely-there outfits to “cheer” on male athletes.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats, for example, also scored a touchdown this month when they introduced the Ticat Performance Team, which replaces their cheerleaders. It includes four men, and everyone is dressed in running shoes and jogging pants.

Small steps, too, can lead to big change. It’s all welcome.

It’s a symbolic step showing the change women can achieve when they’re around the boardroom table