By Taylor Mallory
Just last year, Moldova elected its first woman president. And in 2007, Argentina, Bosnia and India joined the list of countries with woman presidents or prime ministers. Now, of 195 nations, 13 (or 6.7 percent) are run by women — up from 5.6 percent in 2004. Abysmal, yes. But the next tier is much more promising. Thirty-one countries (or 16.1 percent) have woman vice presidents or deputy prime ministers — nearly double the 8.2 percent in 2004.
When it comes to women in politics, Irene Natividad, president of the Global Summit of Women, says the U.S. Has a lot to learn from Spain and (hold on to your hats, ladies) Rwanda. Spain, led by a male president and female vice president, has reached gender equity through policy — requiring that women make up 50 percent of its cabinet and 50 percent of all company boards. Rwanda, which has the highest percentage of women in parliament, “found equity through sheer need for survival,” Natividad says. In the genocide-ravaged country, the government and economy are depending on women survivors to rebuild the country. “Now little boys in Rwanda will grow up with a different respect for their mothers, sisters and daughters — and the attitude toward women leaders will change,” she says. But don’t pack up and head east just yet. “Things can be changed,” Natividad says. How? First, make a statement with your vote. “When all other things, like experience and values, are equal, opt for the woman.” Ultimately, it comes down to personal responsibility. “Women must take the banner for change themselves instead of just saying ‘It’s not fair,’” she says.
Since 2006 Socially conservative, primarily Catholic Chile chose a surprising leader in Bachelet, an atheist single mother and the nation’s first woman president.
The second woman president of Argentina (though the first to be elected), this former senator and first lady became the first to succeed her husband as a president.
Finland’s first woman head of state, Halonen has been a major player in Finnish politics since 1974, serving on many parliamentary boards and holding four ministry positions.
Diogo, Mozambique’s first woman head of government, previously served as minister of planning and finance.
Formerly Moldova’s minister of finances, Grecianîi is the nation’s first woman prime minister.
Liberia’s first democratically elected president, Johnson-Sirleaf – a harvard-educated economist and former World Bank official – is also its first woman head of state.
Since 2001 The daughter of a former president, Macapagal-Arroyo served as vice president before becoming the second female president.
Merkel, who has a doctorate in physics, is the first woman to lead Germany since it became a modern nation-state in 1871.
Pierre-Louis, an economist, became Haiti’s second woman prime minister in 2008. She previously headed a foundation providing libraries, youth education and women’s networks.
Kristo, a lawyer, is the first woman vice president in her region. She was formerly minister of justice and vice president of the parliament.
When McAleese took office, she became Ireland’s second female president and the first woman in world history to succeed another woman as an elected head of state.
Serving in a number of ministry positions before becoming India’s first woman president, Patil was most recently the first woman governor of Rajasthan.
Tymoshenko, a trained economist and formerly a businesswoman in the gas industry, is Ukraine’s first female prime minister.
This article originally appeared in the Febuary.March 2009 issue of PINK Magazine.
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