Varying Degrees of Progress
Electing Women Leaders
Iceland’s prime minister, Johanna Sigurdardottir, just got married – to another woman; the country’s marriage equality laws went into effect this past week. And for the record, Iceland elected its first female president, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, thirty years ago. Now that’s progress.
Meanwhile, Australia has a new prime minister – its first woman to hold the position, (progress) and she is unmarried, which is causing significant discussion. Julia Gillard, elected June 24, does have a boyfriend and the Sydney Morning Herald is concerned with their living arrangements. In article titled, “Shacking up is hard to do: why Gillard may be leery of the Lodge,” writer Bettina Arndt worries that, “as a popular role model for women, her lifestyle choice may influence other women into making big mistakes about their lives.” That mistake is “wasting precious breeding time in such uncertain relationships.” Wow. That doesn’t feel like progress. The newspaper even ran a poll asking “Do you agree that Julia Gillard’s de facto lifestyle is a bad influence for women?” So far 78 percent of respondents have said no. That’s progress.
And here in the United States, the closest we’ve come to electing a woman to lead the country was Hillary Clinton’s run for office and two women, Sarah Palin and Geraldine Ferraro, running as vice presidential candidates. Are we making progress? Do you think a woman will be elected president in your lifetime? Answer that question at The SkinnyScoop and you’ll be eligible to win a Yogi Max from Yogibo.
Amazing isn’t it? We have come a long way and we have a long way to go.
Linda, I am not convinced we will elect a woman either but I am going to work hard toward the goal. And I agree we’ve had some setbacks in our progress. The widening wage gap is proof. http://helloladies.com/2009/10/wage-gap-widens/ And I agree that going to work can be a real eye opener for women who may have viewed the world as a more equal place.
The good news is women are in a stronger place than ever before. And if we work together, help each other out, and have an honest discussion, we can make some positive changes.
Unfortunately, no, I don’t think the US will elect a female president in my lifetime. But I also didn’t think we would have a black president in my lifetime. So, I hope I’m wrong. Of course, I wouldn’t vote for a woman just because she’s a woman. (God, forbid that Sarah Palin should run…that would set womens struggles back in my opinion.) I think, regardless of polls, in some ways we have gone backwards in the past two decades regarding the liberation and equality of women. The controversy of womens lib in the 60s is no longer controversial, so it seems we have accepted the status quo in terms of progress because the discrepancies in equality may be less or are better disguised. Either that or I’m just more jaded now than when I was a young, bright-eyed college student looking forward to having a fabulous career and conquering the world.
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Wow…I hadn’t realized Iceland had elected its first female president 30 years ago. Begs the question of when we will finally see a female president in the US. Or for that matter, when we will truly embrace equality. Having grown up in Canada, where same sex marriage has been legal for more than 5 years, I found the whole Prop 8 debate quite disappointing.