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Around the world, women have been making progress towards equality with men on both the business and political fronts for decades, yet always seeming to come up a bit short. But, 2005 may go down in history as the year the glass ceiling was truly broken, as two women were elected president in what has traditionally been the most socially conservative continents on the planet. The elections of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Liberia and Michelle Bachelet in Chile may have paved the way towards the future of equal gender representation in politics all over the globe.
The election of Ellen Sirleaf, a Harvard educated banker and long time politician is perhaps the most surprising leader to emerge in any election in a number of years. Not only has she been elected in a continent that has never had a female leader before, but she also emerged victorious despite running against celebrity footballer George Weah. The most difficult part lies ahead however. After 14 years of civil war, Liberia is a tarnished nation with almost non-existent infrastructure. Monrovia, the capital and most modern city in the country has no running water and almost no electricity. Sirleaf's challenge arises not only in her ability to help rebuild the country but also to enable its citizen to create self-sustaining enterprises. With billions of dollars of donations on hand to help jumpstart the economy, Ellen Sirleaf's biggest ally is the vast and untouched natural resource deposits of gold, diamonds, and iron ore located underneath the ground.
Michele Bachelet's situation is remarkable in the way that it distinctly contrasts Sirleaf's. After sustaining oppressive leaders for decades, the Chilean miracle began to occur in 1990 as free markets and entrepreneurship began to be embraced. The experiment was so successful that within a decade, Chile had become the most prosperous country in the region, even while neighboring countries such as Argentina and Brazil were facing enormous economic disruptions and currency devaluations. The Chilean mining sector has done much to keep the economy growing. The leading producer of copper in the world, the country's import revenues and foreign direct investment have risen several fold in the past few years because of higher prices for that commodity.
Current outgoing President Richard Lagos is well liked and his endorsement of Michele Bachelet's campaign carried much weight with some of Chile's citizens. Bachelet's greatest challenge is to keep things going the way they have! been. The election of two female political leaders in some of the most socially male dominated societies on earth may predict enormous changes for the future of politics. While many in Liberia still view women as second class citizens, enough of them voted in a female President in what is Liberia's first chance for peace in decades. While a great opportunity for Liberia, it may perhaps be the defining moment for female political leaders throughout Africa. If Sirleaf can successfully revitalize Liberia's economy, it is highly likely that a number of African countries will elect a female President in coming elections - a thought that was virtually implausible just a few months ago. Michele Bachelet's victory, although still not official until January's runoff, shows how quickly social progress can follow economic progress. Even today, the percentage of women in the Chilean workforce is only 1 out of every 3, a ratio far lower than almost anywhere else in the world. Most are vie! wed as unfit to work, yet many still support Bachelet's campaign. While divorce is highly looked down up and was only legalized in Chile a few months ago, Bachelet's victory is even more remarkable because of her openness about her relationship with her estranged husband. The role of women throughout the world may suddenly be changing and much of its success lies in the hands of Bachelet and Sirleaf. If these two politicians can be successful in their attempts to lead, the door may open for many other women throughout the world. While Hillary Clinton may be the big story of 2008 in America, other female pioneers are blazing the trail in even more patriarchal societies - people who's hearts and minds are opening up to a new social revolution - a world, without a glass ceiling. |
