USA Today recently conducted a poll asking a very timely question: Will there be a female president within 10-15 years? They were a little more optimistic than the title of this post (at least they put time to it). Of those who responded, 39% said extremely/very likely, while 25% answered not likely at all. As you know it is election season, and while none of the presidential candidates is female, it does make you think about the future and when will there be a female in the oval office. After 43 presidents we finally saw the first person of color (male) president inaugurated to lead this great nation…so do we have to go through 43 more before we see a woman? (Let’s hope not!) And then when she does become president, will she even make the same money as her predecessors (that’s a whole other blog post!).
History tells us that yes, eventually one day there will be a female president. History has shown us that women will eventually break into roles that are traditionally male. But why is it taking the US so long to get there? Despite all of our great innovation, I think in some ways the US is still old fashioned in its thinking, and basically stuck in ancient times. Other countries have women in power – and some have for a long time – it’s time for the US to take a lesson.
Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, said that she wanted the United States to emulate at least one Latin American lesson: its record of electing female presidents. Latin America leads the world in the number of female presidents and prime ministers. In Brazil, Argentina and Costa Rica female presidents have broken through the glass ceiling. This after in just 1990 less than 5% of Latin America’s lawmakers were women. Some attribute the rise in female lawmakers to the adoption of quota laws by 12 Latin American countries. Mexico may soon be added to the list if they elect Josefina Vazquez Mota in the current presidential election. Although Latin America trails the United States in several gender equality indicators, they have obviously succeeded where the US has not: electing female heads of state.
Let’s travel across the water. Earlier this month, Joyce Banda was sworn in as Malawi’s president. Making her southern Africa’s first female head of state, and Africa’s second sitting female president. Of course these are not the only two regions where females currently hold top leadership positions. Germany has a female Chancellor. Thailand has a female Prime Minister. Australia’s Prime Minister? A woman. The Republic of India’s President…yep you guessed it, is a woman. And the list goes on…take a look at some of the female presidents and prime ministers around the world.
So what’s up America?
What’s the Inclusion Solution?
It’s pretty obvious isn’t it? But if we had to come up with a solution, maybe it is to get girls interested in politics at a younger age. Perhaps the Girl Scouts will help with that with their To Get Her There campaign. The US probably does not need to go as far as to have quotas, since we do have female representation (albeit unequal) in the House and Senate. Perhaps we will see a women president sooner than we think.
This post was written by Mareisha N. Winters, Vice-President of The Winters Group, Inc.
