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.

Michelle Wu has made history after being elected as mayor of Boston, becoming the first woman and person of color elected to the position in almost 200 years.

“From every corner of our city, Boston has spoken. We are ready to meet this moment. We are ready to become a Boston for everyone,” said Wu to her supporters on Tuesday night. “I want to be clear, it wasn’t my vision on the ballot, it was ours, together.”

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."

In-depth: More than 95 female candidates were elected in Iraq's election according to preliminary results, exceeding the 83-seat quota. But some say political parties are manipulating the system for electoral gain, rather than to empower women.

“Women set a historic record in the election,” Iraqi officials announced in a statement after the 10 October parliamentary vote.