Women's Leadership

Beirut, (UN Women, The European Union and The World Bank) - Lebanon is facing a convergence of political, economic and social crises, all exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. These crises are causing extraordinary human suffering across Lebanon and deepening gender inequalities and divides.

The position of ambassador is considered the pinnacle of a diplomatic career. However, it is a position that still remains dominated by men. A new ranking - named Shecurity - focuses on the place of women in diplomacy and while none of the 100 countries from which the data was collected in 2020 achieves gender equality, Belgium is rated as the worst.

With barely 11% of women among its ambassadors, Belgium comes bottom of the pile behind Kyrgyzstan and Chile. Topping the rankings are Finland, Austria and Latvia.

New York leaders ingratiated themselves with the Westchester Black Women's Political Caucus on Sunday in Yonkers, as the organization celebrated its 45th anniversary and showcased its rise to power.

Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, representing Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration, called the  Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a longtime caucus member from Yonkers, "the woman who saved New York's democracy."

When women gain power in national legislatures such as the U.S. Senate or Israeli Knesset, countries begin to spend more on priorities like education and health care.

That’s the conclusion of new research led by CU Boulder and published this fall in the journal Political Science Research and Methods.

The study comes as women are winning more seats in parliaments and national assemblies around the globe, but still struggling to gain a majority in many countries.