March is Women's History Month and, this year, we celebrate not only the history women have made, but the historical happenings that women are making right now.
2024 is set to be a landmark election year globally. Almost half of the world's population will vote for leaders this year. That's about half of the world’s population. Just think of it! And the 2024 elections will see a record number of female candidates such as Nikki Haley in the US. With the two female contenders in Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum and Xóchitl Gálvez, Mexico is guaranteed to have its first-ever female president.
It's an age-old story: women seeking equality with men in politics. For decades, women have held rallies and marches across the globe, shedding light on issues that matter to them such as reproductive rights, violence against women, workplace equality and, of course, suffrage.
Right to Vote
Just earning the right to vote has been an arduous journey for women. The Isle of Man gave women landowners the right to vote in 1881, followed by the British colony of New Zealand in 1893. The most recent country to open up the polls to women is Saudi Arabia, whose King Abdullah issued a decree in 2011, ordering that women be allowed to vote and stand as candidates. However, the first opportunity to vote didn’t come until December 2015, almost a year after his death.
In the US, women gained the right to vote after lots of protests by the suffragettes. The vote came bit by bit, first in various localities then state by state, over the course of more than half a century. In 1920, the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution granted all American women the right to vote. I'm proud to say that my grandmother marched for the right to vote New York City.
And just because women have gained the right to vote doesn't mean they get to keep it. Women in Afghanistan first won the right vote in 1919. But that right (as well as many other female rights) has changed over the years with the rule of the Taliban.
The Road to Leadership
Becoming a head of state has been even more challenging. Oh sure, there have been queens over the centuries, going all the way back to 1806 BC when Egypt’s Sobekneferu ruled. After her death, it took 400 more years before another woman, Hatshepsut, would be named pharaoh. And guess what? She was referred to as a king, not queen.
In modern day when we look at females in politics, names like Angela Merkel, Kamala Harris, and Jacinda Ardern are global female leaders whom the entire world knows. But truth is, female heads of state are far and few between. The road for women to run a country in modern times was paved by many extraordinary women in the past, each taking on other leadership positions in politics
The first woman ambassador in modern history was Alexandra Kollontai, appointed ambassador from the Soviet Union to Sweden in 1932. Imagine what it was like to be her, negotiating between men back when women weren’t supposed to even have an opinion? I'd love to have been at those negotiating tables. She was also one of the first women activists, organizing mass marches for working-class women and peasants. I’d like to have met her.
In 1945, Eleanor Roosevelt was far wire than a First Lady. She was a diplomat and humanitarian. She became the American delegate for the recently-formed United Nations. A year later, she was elected as the head of the United Nations Rights Commission, helping draft the Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948.
Women as Heads of State
But for a woman to become the head of state, well that was a different story.
According to UN Women, as of 10 January 2024, there are 26 countries where 28 women serve as Heads of State and/or Government. That means at the current rate, gender equality in the highest positions of power will not be reached for another 130 years. Wow, right? And Just 15 countries have a woman Head of State, and 16 countries have a woman Head of Government
Rarely does a woman win the popular vote, somewhat the opposite of what happened in the 2016 US election when Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, but did not earn the presidency. (American elections are decided by the electoral college and not the popular vote.) Singapore’s Halimah Yacob is an exception. She won the office unopposed in 2017.
In 1960, Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka became the modern world’s first female head of government. Since then, the highest position of executive power has been held by a woman in just 59 with 77 women having held the most powerful positions of executive power in their respective countries, according to Statista.
In 1974, Argentina’s Isabel Martinez de Peron became the first modern female president of any nation, inheriting the office when her husband Juan Peron died in office (she had been his Vice President).
Dame Pearlette Louisy from Saint Lucia held office for 20 years and 105 days, making her the longest-ever serving female head of state. Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh is a close second, having served as prime minister for for a combined total of 20 years, 89 days.
Asia is a bit different. Most female rulers have been wives or daughters of rulers. As mentioned above, Singapore’s president, Hamilah Jacob, is an exception. Indira Gandhi was also an unusual case. Even though she was the daughter of a Prime Minister, she refused to assume the role when he died. Instead, she chose to become a cabinet minister and, in 1996 (seven years after her father died), she won an election to become the Prime Minister. She served from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 until her assassination in 1984.
There are a million stats to look at when it comes to female leaders. We could look at those in other political offices or women serving as CEOs. The story is petty much always the same. The gender gap is real whether we look at pay or positions held.
Still, we’ve come a long way since my grandmother carried a homemade sign and marched the streets of New York, demanding the right to vote.I think we all owe a huge thanks to the women who have gone before us. It will be fascinating to watch what happens as my teenage daughter grows. What will the political landscape look like when she's my age? Will things even out or will women still be playing catch up?
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