What Slow Progress!

Do I sound like a female chauvinist pig when I say women are generally better managers than men? Ok I admit I am one, but generally it has proven to be quite true, although so few women are able to break through the glass ceiling.

This is specially so in the western world which boasts being the leaders in the democracy. Interesting though, countries such as India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the last two being rabid Muslim nations, have had female leaders while Britain only broke through in the 1980's and the USA never. Even the Vatican had a female Pope in the person of Pope Joan. Only thing she had to pretend to be a man to gain that position sometime in 12 AD and when they discovered it, they determined "never again" and invented a chair with a slit through which the incoming pope's balls would fall, so someone would feel them to verify that it was indeed a man! (Read about it in the book about pope Joan!)

But back to the modern days.

Not even in the position of state governors has the USA made much progress for at this time they have only five female governors, less than  10% of the cohort.

I started reflecting on this topic once again while reviewing the Presidency of Joyce Banda who had been elected as head of Malawi last year, joining in Africa,  Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Presiident of Liberia. In other words  in the huge continent of Africa with its 53 independent nations, there are only two female heads of state.

Of course, many will insist that having a female head of state does not guarantee better government.  But if one takes a look at the progress in Liberia, a country with a population of just under 4 million, it paints a hopeful picture. For whereas it had negative growth up to 2004, the country has grown steadily since 2006 when Ms. Johnson took over, growing by a whopping  11%  in 2011.

 Malawi, with its over 12 million population needs that kind of miracle too. Lets hope Ms. Banda does not disappoint, as has our only female prime minister in Jamaica. But then on the other hand, no matter what Portia Simpson Miller does, she will never be labeled the worse Prime Minister for years to come, as that position has been cemented for time immemorial by the previous prime minister Bruce Golding.