A New Dynamic: Women Leaders Around the World by Sophia Yan

Although traditional gender roles have been whittled down over the years, the political arena is often still considered a boy’s game, a male’s playing field. Female political leaders continue to face issues of inequality and sexism, facing not only expected opposition in office, but also having to field gender issues. Despite this, there is a growing number of strong women in high-profile leadership roles, as evidenced by the Council of Women World Leaders and its members’ successful offices.

While America’s 2008 presidential election has been called the most expensive election in history by both politicians and the media, estimated at $1 billion, things have not been all too different overseas. Socialist presidential candidate Marie-Ségolène Royal for France’s 2007 election argued with one of her top advisors, the party’s chief economic expert, Eric Besson, about the estimated campaign costs of €35 billion. Besson resigned, a move interpreted by both the press and the public as a refusal to recognize just how much Royal’s race would cost French taxpayers. Last month, Besson published a book, entitled Qui connaît Madame Royal? (Who knows Mrs. Royal?), publicly expressing his lack of support for Royal, condemning her and her campaign for already negatively affecting the very people she claims to support and represent.

Although an article published in the popular weekly magazine Paris Match hinted at Royal’s possible candidacy, her rise was still viewed with surprise by the public eye. However, her intentions only became clear after publishing the opening chapters of her political manifesto, which coincided with the launch of a heavily Internet-based electoral campaign in which she allowed her supporters to contribute by helping her finish the book.

According to Royal, she restrained from rallying her candidacy because of the sexist opposition she knew would arise; the situation would have been different had she been male. Reading between the lines, Royal was saying: It is possible that Besson would have not objected to a campaign of €35 billion, and it is possible that the French media, rather than noting Royal’s vamped-up wardrobe as of late and newly minted teeth from a few trips to the orthodontist, would be more focused on her ideas for reform.

“French women politicians perceive male domination as a fact of life. Real power is where the men are,” wrote Niilo Kauppi from the University of Helsinki in the European Journal of Women’s Studies. France’s International Women’s Day attracts female activists with slogans like “There isn’t a gene for housework,” also a popular motto on International Labor Day. These cries have not struck enough of a chord with the existing government; most support centers for women, victims of domestic abuse, and sexual violence are independent clinics rather than state-owned. Unlike her opponent, the French conservative party’s (UMP) candidate Nicolas Sarkozy, Royal has drawn a delicate balance between her strong-willed, hard-headed national and foreign policies, as well as supporting social issues that involve women and the family.

Royal’s political career thus far proves that she is an excellent candidate. During her tenure in 1992 as Minister for the Environment, she stood behind recycling, preservation of the countryside and control of noise pollution. Education is also a priority for Royal, stressing the importance of fostering healthy environments in public schools. She has taken bold strides against child prostitution and pornography and is further committed to sexuality issues, promising to legalize same-sex marriages. And it is no surprise that Royal seems to be a creative feminist, abetting further sexual equality in France, a country where a woman’s salary is reportedly 80% of a male’s salary.

Since December of last year, Royal has been traveling abroad extensively to further international recognition and rapport. She has called on the UN to impose sanctions on groups like the Taliban, an example of modern oppression. Royal is also against any nuclear program in Iran and has cited inspiration from the Chinese legal system. Why, then, should a strong politician, covering all her bases, be concerned with sexism? However, Royal certainly has good reason to proceed with caution.

In 1999 at the Paris Agricultural Show, French Minister of the Environment Dominique Voynet was assaulted with sexist insults. While this prompted an increase in dialogue concerning women’s issues in France, the new ideas thrown around did not last long. Perhaps the problem is not isolated in France.

Last July during the G8 Summit, President George W. Bush placed his hands on German Chancellor Angela Merkel shoulders, a gesture more personal and intimate than she had expected, who flailed her arms in response. A video circulated on the popular internet hub, YouTube, and prompted Jon Stewart of The Daily Show to joke about the incident as a “move she learned in date rape prevention class.” Rather than talk heading in the direction of harassment and inappropriate professional behavior, satirist Stewart took it the other way, targeting Merkel rather than Bush. Sexism still has its hold, even on a popular American television show.

Merkel assumed office in November 2005, announcing ideas to improve the state’s economy and reforms to lower unemployment in her first government address at the end of the month. After having held office for about 100 days, Merkel’s approval rating was the highest for any German Chancellor since 1949. Merkel’s nickname, “The Iron Frau,” is an allusion to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who was know as “The Iron Lady.” This nickname served her well earlier this month when she visited the Middle East, offering Europe’s help as a part of a larger global effort, prompting Israelis and Palestinians to return to the negotiating table for peace talks.

Such activities help to support the mission of the Council of Women World Leaders and its Ministerial Initiative. Created at a 1996 summit of 11 of the world’s leaders, the Council and its Ministerial Initiative’s mission is “to promote good governance and enhance the experience of democracy globally by increasing the number, effectiveness, and visibility of women who lead at the highest levels in their countries,” with high-profile female members from around the globe. One of its members, President of Chile Michelle Bachelet of the Socialist Party took the traditionally macho country by storm during her campaign, promising reforms that would give women a more audible voice.

However, Bachelet’s term has been a little rockier than Merkel’s. In her first 100 days, Bachelet worked on a number of issues ranging in complexity, from providing the elderly with free health care to suggesting reforms for the social security and the electoral systems. Last April, a large student movement demanding better quality of public education led to a sharp decrease in Bachelet’s approval ratings, prompting her to reorganize her cabinet. Bachelet has also initiated an anti-corruption plan in response to alleged misuse of public funds in past administrations. Furthermore, Bachelet faced a huge controversy of whether of not the morning-after pill could be distributed without parental consent. This, coupled with talk of a new public transportation system in Santiago and a nine-month stagnancy in renaming a new Comptroller General, led to critical media coverage prompting Bachelet to reshuffle her cabinet a second time, not even a month into her second year.

Whereas Merkel has enjoyed positive media attention, the Chilean press has extensively criticized Bachelet’s work. Although Merkel ran into one major problem — accused of plagiarizing part of a speech from President Ronald Reagan in a 1980 presidential debate — she was able to spring back quickly and effectively, a flexibility she has exercised more efficiently than Bachelet.

However, the conditions in which Bachelet had been in prior to assuming office have also shaped some widely shared sentiments against her. In her early 20s, while still in medical school at the University of Chile, Bachelet’s father, Air Force Brigadier General Alberto Bachelet Martinez was taken into custody by General Augusto Pinochet’s secret police, where he died from torture. Bachelet and her archeologist mother, Ángela Jeria Gómez, were also captured, detained at the Villa Grimaldi and were tortured for 21 days.

Bachelet had bravely taken office in 2002, becoming South America’s first female defense minister in 2002, assuming power over some of the men who may have been involved with the death of her father and her own terrible experience. In a rare situation, the tables were turned. One of the reforms that Bachelet promised in her campaign before the 2006 election was to split her cabinet evenly between males and females, a hugely liberal idea for Chile where sexual harassment in the workplace was made illegal in 2005. Senator of New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton, has also announced similar plans “to enlist thousands of women to play roles in her presidential campaign, hoping to build on the enthusiasm her candidacy has stirred among female voters at early campaign events,” according to The New York Times.

Gender inequality and sexism between male and female political leaders needs to be pushed off the table, especially with the increasing number of strong female figures successfully stepping into office.