First of all, the jewish tradition does not belive in an "accident of birth".
Hashem (G-d) placed each and every one of us in the position He knows is
best for us, so the fact that someone is a Kohen - or a Levi, Yisrael,
Man or Woman- is NOT an accident of birth.
Secondly, the jewish tradition holds that all of Israel is supposed to
work together for an ultimate purpose - upholding the torah and bringing
the rest of the world to it's truths (not by missionizing, but that is a
whole other topic in itself). in the torah it states "kol yisrael arevim
ze lazeh" which means all jews are responsible for each other. the jewish
nation is like an amazing machine - one machine with many different
parts. some may be bigger and/or flashier then others, but if even one
tiny screw were missing the machine would fall apart! Hashem put each of
us in a situation where we can do our best. for some people this means
being a cohen, for others a woman or a levi etc.
And finally when you write of "being a second class citizan with no hope
ever of improving herself" it is just not so! the western idea of success
is being a public figure - in judiasm, and in Hashem's eyes- it is just
the opposite! one of the greatest midos (character traits) a jew can posses
is HUMBLENESS! in fact, our rabbis teach us that a jewish woman is on a
higher spiritusl level that a jewish man particularly because of her
less-public role! and even though a woman may be seen to be "lower" than
a man because she is obligated in less mitzvos (torah commandments) many
women were, and are greater than men - like our matriarch Sarah who had a
higher level of prophecy than Abraham himself!
And quite obviously, there is not a cohen alive who is as great as Moses
was! a yisrael or levi who is a torah scholar is always considered greater
than a cohen who is not one! in Judaism the only "second class" citizan is
the one who doesn't follow Hashem!
Chana Wagner