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.
