women leaders

Across Canada, just one-quarter of our Members of Parliament are women. In many ridings, they’re seen as “sacrificial lambs” running for a party that’s unlikely to win. And Melanee Thomas, a two-time candidate in Lethbridge, isn’t predicting sudden change.

We invite our users to read the full article published September 6 2013

Freda Prempeh, Member of Parliament (MP) for Tano North Constituency in the Brong Ahafo region has noted with worry that culture is still an obstacle hindering many qualified women to go into politics.

Ms Prempeh is one of the two female parliamentarians out of the twenty-nine MPs from her region.

Ms Prempeh said the situation is not encouraging women who are capable to go into politics even at the local level elections to represent the various electoral areas at the Metropolitan Municipal District Assemblies (MMDAs).

Laura Boldrini, Cecile Kyenge and Emma Bonino are among those doing “far better than men”, Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta said during an interview with television channel Russian 24 ahead of the G20 summit, which gets underway in St Petersburg on Thursday.

The number of women who have entered the Italian government since Letta came on board has increased from 20 to 30 percent. “I wanted my government to have the largest number of women in Italian history”, he said.

Two months after Julia Gillard was ousted, feminist and sociologist Eva Cox looks back on the misogyny debate her time as Australia's prime minister sparked - and whether gender issues are on the election agenda as a result.

The question of female leadership still sits rather uncomfortably in discussions of power politics. The recent death of Margaret Thatcher reminded us of her politically successful tenure and re-elections, whether we agreed with her stance or not.

On Sunday night, Aminata Touré was named Prime Minister of Senegal. Whichever mineral flows through the veins of Aminata Touré, she has spent all of her adult life working as a human rights and women’s rights activist, who has worked in Senegal and around the world on women’s issues and, more generally, at the intersection of social and economic justice struggles.

State Sen. LeAnna Washington, D-4, was a high school dropout, had her first child at age 17, was a single mother, grew up in a tumultuous household, was a victim of domestic violence and received government assistance well into her adult years. However, these hardships did not stifle Washington — they motivated her to be a leader in her community.