United States of America

At the Congressional level women make up just 16 percent, and state and local government numbers are not much better. Media outlets use a double standard for women that then plays out in campaigns; women are perceived as being too strong, too weak or just not qualified.
To read the full article, please visit the New York Times' Website.

Women hold relatively few elected positions primarily because they don’t pursue them, a new report by the Brookings Institution concludes. While research has shown that women who chose to run experience a “complete absence of overt gender bias” when it comes to fund-raising and vote totals, women make up slightly more than 24% of statewide elected officials and represent about 16% of Congress.
To read the full article, please visit The Wall Street Journal's Website.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other high-ranking women government ministers on Thursday called for breaking the silence over sexual violence against women and girls in armed conflict.
To read the full article, please visit the The Earth Times Website.

June Sarpong believes women need motivating to get involved in political discussion and activism. The television presenter has launched a new website called politicsandthecity.com to help get more women interested in politics.
To read the full article, please visit the

The Office of the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) of the U.S. Department of State released on June 17 a request for applications (RFA) for the Women Leaders Program. This program will award up to $1.8 million over the span of two years, continuing MEPI’s commitment to support the prosperity and advancement of women in the Middle East and North Africa.
To read the full article, please visit the U.S. Department of State's Website.

Lifetime Networks today announced the launch of the 'Every Woman Counts' bus tour to engage women in the political process this election season and beyond. At each tour stop, women will be able to upload videos to Lifetime's YouTube(TM) Channel declaring what they would do if they were president, highlighting the issues most important to them this historic presidential election year.

Nancy Pelosi, the first woman Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, in her new book 'Know your Power', urges young women to determine their own fates. "If I can go from the kitchen to the Congress, women with a goal can do anything they set out to do" says Pelosi in an interview about her new book.
To read the full article, please go to the Pop Matters website.

EMILY's List released a national study Wednesday that examines how "women of different generations view the presidential candidates, politics and life in general." The study, entitled "From 18 to 80: Women on Politics and Society" focused on the views of four generational groups of women.
To read the full article, please visit Ms Magazine .

A survey released Monday said most U.S. residents believe women can be political leaders, although most consider them to be no better than men. The poll from the Pew Research Center said only 6 percent of the adults surveyed considered women to have better skills and attributes than men when it comes to political leadership abilities.
To read the full article, please visit UPI's Website.