Women's Leadership
On Feb. 1, 2021, Myanmar’s military seized power. While a dramatic event, the coup was a continuation of old power structures.
Myanmar’s decade-long period of political transition, peace-building and democratic elections fell short of freeing the country from military control. Despite its female leader, the exclusion of women throughout the failed transition to democracy is partly why Myanmar was unable to create deep institutional change.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s image as “mother of the nation” depicted her as a caring matriarch. This image stood in contrast with the harsh patriarchy of military rule. But politics in Myanmar defy stereotypes and simple classifications.
Suu Kyi may have been the face of the era of democratic reforms, but in reality, the transition was initiated and controlled by the military. Suu Kyi’s legacy as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate was permanently stained by her handling of the Rohingya genocide, and her projected femininity and democratic idealism should not be confused for feminism or inclusive democracy.
Gender can still help us understand politics in Myanmar, however — just not along these lines. Instead, a different story emerges by looking at the exclusion of women in key stages of the transition process. It is a tale of the persistence of patriarchal power throughout the decade of democratization.
Click here to read the full article published by The Conversation on 21 February 2021.
Fifty years after getting the right to vote, women are better represented in the Swiss parliament than ever. In a ranking of 191 countries worldwide, Switzerland is in 17th place. But this is deceptive: at the local level, representation is still low.
On February 7, 1971, Swiss men decided by referendum to let women have say in Swiss politics. The federal elections on October 31, 1971, were the first in which women could vote as citizens or stand as candidates; 11 women made it into the House of Representatives, giving them a proportion of 5.5%, and one woman took one of the 42 seats in the Senate.
What has happened since? Have Swiss women been able to take their rightful place in national politics over the past 50 years?
The ‘women’s’ election
The most recent federal parliamentary elections, held in October 2019, went down in history as the “women’s” electionExternal link. More women than ever were elected to the two houses of parliament. With a proportion of 41.5% women in the House of Representatives, the country now ranks 17th in a ranking of 191 states worldwide.
Several societal and political factors led to this success, such as the #MeToo movement and protests against the sexism of ex-United States President Donald Trump. In Switzerland, womens’ strikes and mounting climate change activism also led to more women being elected.
Click here to read the full article published by Swiss Info on 3 February 2021.
The swearing in of Kamala Harris as the first female vice president of the United States has renewed conversations on women in political leadership around the world. In Southasia, where several women have assumed the prime ministerial and presidential offices in the past, these discussions are complicated by the dynastic background of the leaders, from Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Indira Gandhi, to Benazir Bhutto and Sheikh Hasina.
But does dynasty alone explain the presence of a few prominent women in national electoral politics in Southasia? How do we view the space for women leaders in provincial or municipal politics, especially in light of the region’s complex caste, religious and linguistic makeup? And have Southasia’s women leaders brought alternative styles of leadership in their political journeys? These are the questions that inspire this first edition of ‘Southasian Conversation’ — our new crossborder discussion series.
The online panel discussion, conducted live over Zoom and Facebook Live on 24 January 2021, brought together speakers from four cities in Southasia:
- Hameeda Hossain (Human-rights activist and scholar. Founding member of Ain o Salish Kendra, a legal aid and human rights organisation. Based in Dhaka.)
- Neelam Hussain (Academic, translator and activist. Founding member and Executive Director of Simorgh Women’s Resource and Publication Centre, and a member of the Women’s Action Forum. Based in Lahore.)
- Manushi Yami Bhattarai (Political activist, organiser and academic. Central committee member of Janata Samajwadi Party, and teaches Gender Studies in Kathmandu.)
- Ambika Satkunanathan (Lawyer, human rights advocate and former commissioner on the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka. Based in Colombo.)
The conversation was moderated by our contributing editor Laxmi Murthy (Journalist, writer and editor; Director of Hri Institute for Southasian Research and Exchange. Based in Bengaluru.)
Source: Himalmag
The Changing the Face of Politics podcast series is an initiative by the National Democratic Institute, launched as part of NDI's commitment to a decade of action to accelerate the pace of change on women's political empowerment.
In candid conversations recorded from home, an intergenerational, multi-sectoral and multi-national array of established and emerging women activists and politicians from around the world will interview each other about their experiences of political leadership, and reflect on how the Changing the Face of Politics campaign can actively protect and promote women’s political empowerment globally.
Instead of a single host the series will be built on a “daisy chain” model, whereby each participant is first a guest, and then an interviewer.
The hope is that this podcast presents inspirational examples to other women, particularly young women and marginalized women, of the possibilities of political leadership.
Watch NDI's media partner, Devex, discusses highlights from the episodes here.
By Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
From the swearing-in of US Vice President Kamala Harris to the Estonian Parliament selecting a female prime minister – champions of women’s rights have had much to celebrate in recent weeks. Yet despite women’s increased engagement in public life, equality remains a distant target.
At UN Women, we did the maths. If current trends hold, it will take approximately 130 years to achieve gender parity in heads of government. In other words, unless current world leaders prioritise the inclusion of women in decision making, no one reading these words will live to see women equally represented at the highest levels of government and public life. The world cannot afford to play out this timeline.
A sobering 119 countries have never had a female leader and, currently, only 22 countries have a female head of state or government. The barriers persist at all levels of government, across the public sector and civil society. A mere 14 countries have achieved 50 per cent or more women in cabinets (the Biden-Harris Administration just missed becoming the 15th when they announced that their impressive and historically diverse cabinet will include 48 per cent women). Similarly, only four countries have elected a majority of women in parliament.
Click here to read the full article published by The Independent on 8 February 2021.
Quotas are unpopular, especially in the liberal Netherlands. But next week its parliament is expected to impose a quota system to ensure major businesses employ more women at the highest levels.
A law is being tabled in parliament which would force listed companies to have at least a third of women (or, indeed, a third of men) on their supervisory boards. Another 5,000 Dutch companies will need to come up with ‘appropriate and ambitious’ measures for increasing female leadership. Meanwhile a government website now showcases board-ready Topvrouwen (top women) to take up these posts. And, in a real departure from the norm, there will be sanctions: if a listed company doesn’t have enough women on the board, any new male appointee will be rejected, in what is known as the ‘empty seat principle’. Firms will also be required to report gender statistics on a website open to all for scrutiny.
Although women in the Netherlands have strong equality rights in law, many believe their representation in public life and at the top of business is lagging. The number of female MPs has fallen since 2010. In 2019, women made up only 12 per cent of those on Dutch management boards and 20 per cent on supervisory boards.
Click here to read the full article published by The Spectator on 4 February 2021.