Why role models trascend.
March 8, 2019.
I am not sure what ignited my interested in world affairs. Back in 1986, when asked by a journalist what I wished for Christmas, my answer was: “I hope that wars in the world come to an end”. That journalist was my grandfather. I was 10 years old.
During my school years, women in leading political positions including Margaret Thatcher and Madeleine Albright inspired me. One of my fondest memories of my senior high-school years was helping younger students prepare to become MUN (Model of the United Nations) delegates and organizing the first ever MUN at my school. In that MUN’s second edition, I was elected its “first female” Secretary General. Working in Washington D.C. years later allowed me to briefly meet Secretary of State Condolezza Rice, another highlight.
It dawns on me now that being a women rising to a prominent political position is like the women I just mentioned above: exceptional. Their legacies in world affairs were distinctive by being: “the first” or “the only”.
Today being International Women’s Day, I reflect upon how these role models transcend by inspiring younger generations to participate, to get organized, become an activist, make a career choice, or being responsible citizens of the world.
In 2018, one of the key findings in the Gender Gap Report issued by the World Economic Forum was that the largest gender gap disparity is that between men and women at the highest level of political decision-making. The gap in Political Empowerment narrows down to this: a small representation of women in overall political roles, with even fewer female heads of state in the last 50 years. Under current trends, it would take 107 years to close the gender gap between men and women in political empowerment. It is worth noting that for this edition, the Political Empowerment sub index calculations considered, among other variables, the ratio of seats occupied in parliament by female vs. men representatives as reflected in elections or appointments up until October 1, 2018.
Yet, history had something in the works for the following month, during the mid-term elections in the United States. In early November, female candidates were at the forefront of the Democratic takeover of the United States House of Representatives. This brought Nancy Pelosi back as Speaker of the House, together with a diverse fabric of newly elected Representatives. I asked a good friend and former colleague of my days in Washington D.C. how she felt on the aftermath. She answered: “I am so encouraged to see new faces, some that look like you (Latina) and me (African-American), in Congress”. She was referring to the youngest Latina representative, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, joined by Veronica Escobar and Sylvia Garcia, the first two Latinas elected to Congress from Texas; together with Ayanna Presley, an African American woman from Massachusetts and the first black Democratic woman elected to Congress from Connecticut, Jahana Hayes. The wave also brought two Native American representatives: Sharice Davids and Debra Haaland); together with Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, both Muslim American. Even now, in the land of the free, this was considered an “Election of Firsts”.
Mexico, where I grew up, also held elections a bit earlier, in the summer of 2018. The Inter-Parliamentary Union highlights that female representatives’ share in the lower chamber gained 5.8 points and also moved upwards by 16.4 points in the upper chamber. According to the World Bank, in 2018, the proportion of seats held by women Mexico’s national legislatures was 48.2%, up from 12% in 1990.
Up north, in Canada, elections are coming soon. But let’s point out that current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s inaugural cabinet was conformed by 15 male and 15 female Ministers, “because it is 2015”. Since then, cabinet shuffles have taken place, the most recent one followed by stunning resignations of two cabinet members: former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould and Treasury Board President Jane Philpott. According to the World Bank, in 2018, 27% of parliament representatives in Canada were women. Canada in fact has had its own first and only female Prime Minister, Kim Campbell. Canada’s current Governor General is Julie Payette, the third female Governor General after Adrienne Clarkson and Michaelle Jean.
In Beijing, where I live, the annual meetings of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislative body, take place every March. The Thirteenth National People’s Congress, taking place at the Great Hall of the People, will gather 2,975 deputies from 35 delegations to discuss China’s state of affairs. Of these deputies, almost 25% are women, a share that has slowly but surely increased from 21.3% reported by the World Bank for 1990.
So why is this important? Because role models matter. During my childhood, influential women were “the only” or “the first”. Today, even though there is still plenty of room for improvement, I am excited about the possibilities of a broader participation of women in politics. What matters is not where women come from, but rather where we want to go. And for young girls, being able to project themselves in existing role models is a powerful motivation.
Hence, while celebrating and cheering for the women and girls in your lives, I invite you to share with them not only the incredible stories of the “firsts”, but also those of the many women actively contributing in public office. Their example may just be the spark of a true calling.
References:
Inter-Parliamentary Union. 2019. Accessed on March 8, 2019 at https://www.ipu.org/news/press-releases/2019-03/new-ipu-report-shows-well-designed-quotas-lead-significantly-more-women-mps
World Bank. Accessed on March 8, 2019 at https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SG.GEN.PARL.ZS
World Economic Forum. 2018. The Global Gender Gap Report. Accessed on March 8, 2019 at https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-gender-gap-report-2018
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