women in politics

With only three female aldermen on the last council and just one woman running for mayor, some people are wondering why more women aren’t interested in seeking public office. According to Druh Farrell, who has represented the people of Ward 7 for 12 years, part of the answer is in how women are treated in politics. We invite our users to read the complete article published October 11th 2013 here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/sexist-attitudes-discourage-women…

New studies in brain science reveal how women’s leadership can push conflicts, whether personal or political, from violent to diplomatic resolution.
In “The Better Angels of Our Nature,” Harvard professor and cognitive scientist Steven Pinker compiles research about the human brain and historical trends. Data points to a biological difference between individuals inclined towards violent or nonviolent solutions. The defining factor is gender.

India had a woman Prime Minister long before the West elected one, but there have been very few women Cabinet ministers to date. Preneet Kaur of the erstwhile royal family of Patiala has been one of the few lady Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs.

The recent Muzaffarnagar riots bared a dangerous trend where crimes against women were distorted and used as a trigger for communal conflagration and polarization for votes.

"It is most dangerous as incidents of eve-teasing and sexual assaults were twisted and used as a means to communalize and polarize ahead of 2014 elections. The riot is linked with election and also Narendra Modi's right hand man Amit Shah is in-charge of UP," said Sudha Sundararaman, general secretary of the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA).

By some measures, women are making huge gains when it comes to elected politics in Canada.
Currently, five provinces and one territory representing 85 per cent of Canada’s total population are governed by women premiers and a record high of 76 women were elected to Parliament in the last federal election in 2011, including a record 18 women under the age of 40.

That’s an amazing turnaround from even a few years ago when there wasn’t a single woman premier in the country and the number of women elected to Parliament was actually falling.

With Janet Yellen slated to become the next chair of the Federal Reserve, the nation is abuzz with the implications of her historic nomination. But while Yellen is the 28th woman Obama has chosen for an executive role, the percentage of women entering top political positions is still disproportionate to the percentage of women in the country. This is abundantly clear during election season. Though 2012 saw a record number of women elected as public officials, few women make it to the ballot in the first place. Why?

President Obama's nomination of the qualified, prescient, and eminently deserving Janet Yellen as the chairman (chairwoman?) of the Federal Reserve yesterday will make her — if confirmed — the first woman in history to hold the position. It's far from the only D.C. office never to be occupied by a boss with two X chromosomes: Just seven women are currently serving among the Obama administration's 23 cabinet-level jobs, and only 45 women have held such spots in the history of the country.