Men have been making a mess of politics since time immemorial. Therefore, this turnabout would be not only fair play but also consistent with the Einsteinian imperative to stop the insanity that defines politics worldwide.
I have been advocating for this role reversal most of my adult life. I have also written many commentaries like “Women Make Better Politicians than Men,” October 14, 2010, which includes this teaser:
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We have enough data, as well as anecdotal evidence, from the way women have influenced the corporate world to make credible extrapolations. The correlation between more women holding positions of power and the implementation of family-friendly policies is undeniable in this respect. Therefore, it’s entirely reasonable to assert that, if more women held positions of power in politics, they would use their power more towards building up human resources than military armaments — just to cite one obvious example.
Finland’s president, prime minister, president of the Supreme Court, as well as eight of its eleven government ministers are all women. Arguably, there’s a direct correlation between their positions and the fact that Newsweek rated this county the best place to live in 2010 — in terms of health, economic dynamism, education, political environment, and quality of life.
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Significantly, I wrote this many years before Donald Trump made women replacing men a categorical imperative. Time’s Up! And, continuing to vindicate this trend, Estonia elected its first female prime minister on Sunday. What’s more, she will be governing under the auspices of the first female president – who this Baltic state elected in 2016.
Meanwhile, there’s this very noteworthy stride:
On Thursday, the most heavily female House of Representatives in U.S. history selected a woman as its leader for the next two years, setting a new high-water mark in the gender diversity of the House and Congress as a whole. …
While there are a lot more women in the House, there are slightly fewer women in the House as a percentage of all of the members of that body. A quarter of the Senate is made up of women; 23.4 percent of the House is.
(The Washington Post, January 3, 2019)
We’ve come a long way, baby. But there’s still a long way to go.
By the way, if you can make it to New York City for April 10-12, you should attend Tina Brown’s 10th anniversary “Women in the World Summit.” It is a
convening of mighty women leaders, blazing activists and courageous movers and shakers who will move you with their provocative first-person storytelling and shake up your worldview.
Here’s to shaking up politics wherever you are by electing women to rule.
[Note: With all due respect to International Women’s Day organizers, I prefer the slogan “Let Shedom Reign!”]
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