Mexico first decided that the presidential office would include a female – and this is due to the uncommon fight of 2 candidates – and late she has been sitting in the South Korean National Assembly record number MPs. And while these phenomena bear witness to affirmative changes in sex equality, this does not change the fact that they are inactive exceptions to the rule. The overall image is not optimistic.
For comparison, let's look at another fresh choices. 30 years after the overthrow of apartheid and the first free elections – and despite the awesome efforts of women to advance sex equality in another areas – South Africans have inactive not elected women to the highest office in the country.
This is not an isolated case. In the March elections in Portugal, only seats in the parliament won 76 females – is simply a decline from 85 in the erstwhile term. In South Africa, although most voters women, all major political parties in the country are besides led by men.
It is an unprecedented year in terms of the number of choices in the planet – almost half of humanity will go to the polls. So the game is about an highly advanced stake, which is representation and participation of women in public life. Nevertheless, in the 3 largest countries in which the elections will take place this year – Indonesia, India and the United States – the main contenders to the highest office are only men. In Africa, where 19 countries she will hold elections before the end of the year, a female has a real chance to become president in only 1 of them: Namibia.
Reaching global sex equality targets and commitments is at risk. Latest data The UN shows that if current trends persist, it will be 47 years before women scope equal representation in national elections to parliament and another elected bodies. If this had been the case, this would have been 41 years after the date set by the 5th SDG on sex equality (SDG 5).
The pursuit of political power and equal representation of women in decision-making is not only morally appropriate, but besides of applicable benefits. Women in leadership positions Common take action to advance sustainable development, from safeguarding access to drinking water to ensuring an accessible care policy. In turn, countries that prosecute these objectives and fight for sex equality in government, Common defend human rights. Investigations They besides show that erstwhile women influence policy making, the overall state of the economy improves.
Although many places around the planet have late experienced unrest and any countries are turning towards authoritarianism, women are resisting these trends by supporting national policy change movements and fighting against government that excludes certain social groups. Their efforts show that it is not besides late to reverse the worrying trends we see in this year's elections.
The choice of more women as leaders remains absolutely crucial. But in order to accomplish real, lasting progress, there is simply a request for the engagement of governments and charities that will support women in their quest for these positions. In 2022, projects on sex equality alone received no funding under the Sustainable improvement Goals. Moreover, the accomplishment of this nonsubjective is far behind the another sixteen, and the effects of its under-financing are visible worldwide.
As leaders, we have a work to mark the deficiency of action for sex equality. Through a fresh fund for women in politics – Women’s Political Leadership Fund – The Open Society Foundation invests in making courageous political leaders a standard in the world. Its aim is to overthrow oppressive and discriminatory structures that prevent women from taking the lead in changing societies.
Also my organization, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development, supports ambitious and talented leadership through our flagship project, Amujee Initiative. More than 40 women, supported by the initiative, have campaigned for climate security, equal access to wellness care, banking and digital inclusion, and any are presently seeking political positions in respective African countries.
There are besides civilian society groups that fight tirelessly for women's rights and freedoms. However, they compete for increasingly scarce financial resources among themselves. Until more resources are found for these objectives, women, especially those in low income countries, will endure from a deficiency of investment in their political status.
We must not refrain from supporting initiatives that focus on women taking more political positions. They have many another obstacles to overcome anyway.
Let the year 2024 be the 1 to make the next generation of leaders. Together we can build a future in which strong leaders will have the power to act in politics.
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Ellen Johnson Sirleaf – Nobel Peace Prize winner, erstwhile president of Liberia, founder of the Africa Frontline First Foundation and co-chair of the Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness and Response.
Binaifer Nowrojee president of the Open Society Foundation.
Copyright: task Syndicate, 2024. www.project-syncicate.org. She translated Anna Opara from English.
