Women in power

[nosho]

Angela Merkel in Germany. Michelle Bachele in Chile. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in Liberia.

And in the U.S.? Hillary or Condi in '08?

[Grammatron]

Who cares? As long as the person can do the job, it doesn't matter.

[fishbob]

Who cares? As long as the person can do the job, it doesn't matter.
I suspect that the point may be that not so long ago, it didn't matter if a woman could do the job better than anyone else, she still had little hope of getting the job. Of course, this might not be the point at all.

[nosho]

It does seem as though women, finally, are getting more of a fair shot at running things in some parts of the world. Who cares? I don't know, maybe women do.

Germany gets its first female head of state in something like 2 centuries. South America gets it first female president who didn't rise to power on her husband's coat tails. And Africa gets its first elected female president (I think, unless I'm unaware of a previous one). All in a short few months. Probably not a trend, but one can dream.

I tend to think the world would be a different place if more women were in power. I'd like to see a woman in power in the U.S. Assuming, of course, that it's someone who can do the job.

If everything else were equal (hypothetically), I'd prefer a woman in the White House for a change.

[Number Six]

More than the surge in women what surprised me was that an open non-believer was elected (in Chile). I wonder how many of those there are in power. Not many I bet.

[Grammatron]

I tend to think the world would be a different place if more women were in power. I'd like to see a woman in power in the U.S. Assuming, of course, that it's someone who can do the job.

If everything else were equal (hypothetically), I'd prefer a woman in the White House for a change.

Different how?

[epepke]

I suspect that the point may be that not so long ago, it didn't matter if a woman could do the job better than anyone else, she still had little hope of getting the job. Of course, this might not be the point at all.

Gold Meir, Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi?

They got the jobs. I'm not convinced they were all that great at them, however.

[ysabella]

Well, in my own country I'm in favor of more women in power. But I wonder about the potential backlash, too.

Just to name more examples: Benazir Bhutto, Tansu Ciller.

[TragicMonkey]

I warmly await the time when women can prove themselves just as corrupt, ineffectual, and idiotic in positions of power as the men are.

[Charlie Monoxide]

I think it's great that more women are getting positions of power. After many millenia of mostly men running the show, it's time women own up to the responsibility of leadership.

IIRC Certain Mohawk tribes around the St Lawrence would require the permission of the elder women in the tribe in order to wage war on another tribe. This makes sense, especially since women have a big commitment to childbirth and raising of future warriors. Can we afford to lose men at this time?, would be a weighing factor in a decision.

Charlie (amazingly Europeans called Native Indians savages way back) Monoxide

[Grammatron]

I warmly await the time when women can prove themselves just as corrupt, ineffectual, and idiotic in positions of power as the men are.

Already happened, see epepke's post.

[Tricky]

Angela Merkel in Germany. Michelle Bachele in Chile. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in Liberia.

And in the U.S.? Hillary or Condi in '08?
Gina Davis?

[Orwell]

I warmly await the time when women can prove themselves just as corrupt, ineffectual, and idiotic in positions of power as the men are.

Maggie Thatcher... :D

[TragicMonkey]

Maggie Thatcher... :D

I said "women", not "robot replicants sent to the surface by the lizard people".

She so was.

[Orwell]

I said "women", not "robot replicants sent to the surface by the lizard people".

She so was.

Man, you're right! Woman implies human. Maggie Thatcher had no human attributes.

[Jorghnassen]

Why, oh why, do people forget about Kim Campbell (the non-elect successor to the good ol' Baie-Comois that is Brian Mulroney)?

[TragicMonkey]

Why, oh why, do people forget about Kim Campbell (the non-elect successor to the good ol' Baie-Comois that is Brian Mulroney)?

Didn't she do that cover of "You Keep Me Hanging On" in the eighties? That was a pretty good song. Oh wait, that was Kim Wilde. Never mind.

[jj]

I warmly await the time when women can prove themselves just as corrupt, ineffectual, and idiotic in positions of power as the men are.

Now that's a properly equal, reasonably cynical response. :)

[Orwell]

Why, oh why, do people forget about Kim Campbell (the non-elect successor to the good ol' Baie-Comois that is Brian Mulroney)?

She didn't stay on long enough to do much damage.

[luchog]

Just to name more examples: Benazir Bhutto, Tansu Ciller.
Corazon Aquino, Glorio Arroyo, Vigdis Finnbogadottir, Mary Eugenia Charles, Mary Robinson, Sirivamo Bandaranaike. Mostly more recent, but Bandaranaike was elected in 1960.

[geni]

Maggie Thatcher... :D

I don't think you could accuse her of being ineffectual

[Furious]

I think one of the better defining moments in the last two years of the U.S. is that Condi Rice was lambasted more for her politics and dedication to Bush rather than being black, female, and single when she became Secretary of State.

I personally remember smirking to myself at whatever article I read that mentioned that she was the first black female Sec. of State as the last sentence of the article after all the detail of the partisan wrankling preceding it.

I personally don't see Condi or Hillary becoming the first female president; however, I don't think the reason neither of them will is because of their gender, but because of their politics.

[Mycroft]

I clicked on this thread thinking it would be about BD/SM.

Boy, am I disapointed. :(

[Orwell]

I clicked on this thread thinking it would be about BD/SM.

Boy, am I disapointed. :(

You sure you're a Democrat?

[nosho]

Different how?

This is a good question, and I don't have a precise answer. Just a sense that if the gender ratio among world leaders approached the gender ratio in the general population, there might be a slow but real shift in the way we, the human race, view women, treat women, respect women, etc.

In some parts of the world we're still stuck in the Middle Ages (no offense intended to fans of the Middle Ages), but in general, it seems that such a shift already has occurred in the last century here in the U.S. and in other places. I'm talking about societal norms, sentiments and values regarding women. Some people would argue that despite setbacks and shortcomings, society has been moving in the right direction during the last century or so, what with woman suffrage and all.

Does that mean female leaders would be any better than the men? Probably not. But the world would be a different (probably better) place.

[David Swidler]

I agree that seeing greater representation of women in political leadership would be a good thing, but not because in itself that's a worthy goal; the goal, as noted in earlier posts, is electing the right person for the job, sex be damned ("sex" as in "male or female;" rest assured I'm very much against damning the act(s)). It would be a sign that our political culture is healthy at least in the male-female demographic respect, not the means to chieve that situation.

[Mycroft]

You sure you're a Democrat?

Democrats are more liberal about sex than are Republicans.