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Governance in Heels

Why A Woman’s Place Is In Politics

By Silvana Koch-Mehrin 99 years ago, the World War I ended and the League of Nations was founded. The first Oreo cookie was designed and the pop-up toaster patented. It’s stuff for the history books. The latest World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report shows that it will take another 99 years for the world to achieve gender-equal political representation if we continue at our current pace. Having only one woman for every four men in parliaments around the world is a clear indication of how ineffective societies are at tapping into the potential talent of more than 50% of the population. There are, of course, important variations: Nordic countries are the most gender equal, and Rwanda is the world champion for female participation in politics. Arab and Gulf countries, stand at the other end of the spectrum. UN Women estimates that globally, men represent 77% of parliamentarians, 82%…

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7 Things

7 Reasons Why Women Make Better Managers

When asked about the secret to his business success, Jack Ma, the founder of Asia’s major e-commerce company, Alibaba, said that women are the “secret sauce” behind his company’s growth and success. Underscoring the importance of women to the growth and success of his company, Mr. Ma organized a Global Conference on Women and Entrepreneurship, a two-day event, which held in Hangzhou, China and had in attendance, women leaders from across the world. According to Ma, women make up about 40% of his company’s workforce and 35% of its high-level managers. This no doubt belies almost all misconceptions about women and competence in the workplace. That is why the raging argument about who make better managers and leaders between men and women, have long become obsolete. Here are seven reasons why women make better leaders and managers than men: Women are Better at Management While men are comfortable with the…

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Governance in Heels

A Step Forward for Women in African Politics

In October 25, 2018, the Ethiopian parliament elected its first female president, Sahle-Work Zewde. Though the role is largely ceremonial, it holds symbolic importance for women across the country and the continent, as Zewde will be the only female head of state in Africa. In her opening speech, she emphasized the importance of equality, telling MPs that if they thought she was talking too much about women, she had only just begun. Her election comes on the heels of another important step forward for Ethiopia, and neighboring Rwanda, who joined the meager ranks of countries with ministerial gender parity. In a cabinet reshuffle last week, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appointed ten female ministers, comprising half of the all cabinet posts. Days later, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame announced that Rwanda’s new cabinet would also be gender-balanced. According to data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union, fewer than ten countries have reached parity…

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Happenings

Rural Women Support Traditional Council to End FGM

The Liberia National Rural Women Structure (LNRWS), which has a membership of over 77,000 across the country, has agreed to support the National Traditional Council of Liberia in order to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). FGM, or female genital cutting, as practiced in Liberia, was customarily practiced by most ethnic groups prior to the outbreak of civil war in late 1989 and has continued since. Some estimates are that in rural areas, approximately 50 percent of the female population between the ages of 8 and 18 had undergone this procedure before the civil war began. It was practiced within some but not all of Liberia’s ethnic groups. At a recent press conference in Monrovia, Madam Kebbeh Mengor, president of LNRWS, said it is important that the international community has finally taken the right path to work with key players in order to end the practice of FGM across the country.…

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Asia News

Deloitte to Provide Education, Skills Training to 10 Million Girls, Women by 2030 in India

Professional services firm Deloitte said it will provide education and skills training to 10 million girls and women in India with an aim to equip them to find a meaningful work. The exercise will be carried out under its global initiative World-class, Deloitte said in a statement. The initiative aims “to support 10 million girls and women by 2030 through education and skills development,” it said. It said that globally, the World-class initiative seeks to prepare 50 million people to be better equipped for the future of work, in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Deloitte’s World-class programme in India will focus on improving girls’ retention rate in school, higher educational outcomes, and skills development for women to access employment, it added. Under the initiative, partnerships will be launched with organisations such as Katha and Pratham. These organisations are working to improve the learning outcomes of millions…

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Happenings

Saudi Arabia Names First Woman Envoy to Washington

Saudi Arabia on Saturday (Feb 23) named a princess as its first woman ambassador to the United States, a key appointment as the fallout over journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder tests relations between the allies. Princess Rima bint Bandar replaced Prince Khalid bin Salman, the younger brother of the powerful crown prince who was appointed Vice Defence Minister in a flurry of late-night royal decrees announced on State media. The reshuffle comes as Saudi Arabia seeks to quell an international outcry over Khashoggi’s murder last October in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, which strained relations with its key ally Washington. After initially denying they knew anything of Khashoggi’s disappearance, the kingdom finally acknowledged that Saudi agents killed him inside the consulate, but described it as a rogue operation. Princess Rima faces hostile US lawmakers who have threatened to take tough action against Saudi Arabia over the brutal killing amid claims that…

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Girl Talk

How Can I stop the Wardrobe Wars?

2 hours to the scheduled time of the party, she had a long warm bath and took time with the ritual of her makeup and dressing. Her dad was meant to drop her off at her friend’s house and she did not want to keep him waiting for too long. As she walked out of her room to the sitting room, she could not help smiling at the image of herself she saw on the mirror. She was certain she will make a statement with her dress. You’re wearing that?’’ Her dad blurts out as soon as she walks into the sitting room. Yes dad, she replied, you like it? Like what?’’ her dad retorted, almost repulsed at the thought of ever liking such an ‘’outrageous outfit’’. You can’t go out in that. Why not? Sheba whines. This is what all the other girls are wearing; I want to make…

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