2011 Commonwealth Essay Competition Deep Vaze (16), India Senior Prize Winner

Discuss the statistic that 51%of the worldarewomen butonly8%ofcountrieshaveanelected femaleleader. Arefiftyonepercentoftheworldwomen? The statistic is disputed. As Nobelwinning economist Amartya Sen shows in his essay More than 100millionWomenareMissing,theglobalgenderimbalanceissignificant,andperhapsgrowing especially in developing countries. Sen argues that it may be unwise to derive a global ratio by generalizing from the contemporary situation in Europe and North America, where the ratio of womentomenistypicallyaround1.05or1.06,orhigher.InSouthAsia,WestAsia,andChina,the ratioofwomentomencanbeaslowas0.94orevenlower. Inmuchofthedevelopingworld,societalignoranceandneglectpovertysterriblebyproducts conspire against girls, often from the moment they are born. In agrarian societies, the monetary valueofmalechildrenappearsselfevident:boyscanearntheirkeepworkingtheland,providefor theirparentsinoldage,andeventuallyinheritthefamilyland.Bycontrast,girlsareoftenviewedas adrainonthefamilypurse,expensivetomarryoffincommunitieswheredowriesarestillaccepted, andprecludedbypatriarchalcustomfrominheritingtheirfathersland. Thus,itisnotuncommonamongstpoorfamiliesinmanypartsoftheworldforthemenandboysto befedfirst,orforboystobefavouredovertheirsisterswhenscarcefamilyfundsareallocatedfor school fees or even medical expenses. Consequently, in Southeast Asia and subSaharan Africa more than anywhere else in the world, girls die prematurely due to malnourishment at a disproportionatelyhighrate.Ofcourse,thisappliesonlytofamilieswhohavechosentoraiseagirl in the first place. Despite legislation to stamp out female infanticide and genderbased abortion, illicit markets continue to cater to desperate parents who believe they are too poor to raise a daughter. It is, appallingly, still no exaggeration to say that at the poorest levels in developing countries,girlsareoftensecondclasscitizensintheirownfamilies. Withsuchastartinlifeandsuchbleakprospects,isitanywonderthatfewwomenmakeittothe top job in government in developing countries? In a society where women are fewer in numbers anddiscriminatedagainstfrombirthwhentheyseekaccesstonutrition,healthcare,educationand a fair inheritance, should we really be surprised that so few women have realised their political aspirations? Thosethathavetendtohavebeencocoonedfromthesystematicsubordinationthatmanyoftheir countrywomen face. Indias Indira Gandhi, Pakistans Benazir Bhutto and Sri Lankas Chandrika Kumaratunga were all daughters of charismatic prime ministers. In Bangladesh, power has consistently been lobbed back and forth between two women: Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of Bangladeshsfoundingfather,SheikhMujiburRahman,andKhaledaZia,thewidowofassassinated 1

presidentandformerarmychiefZiaurRahman.Theachievementsofthesewomeninbeingelected to the highest political offices in four of the worlds most populous countries are arguably less representativeofthepossibilitiesopentomostIndian,Pakistani,SriLankanandBangladeshiwomen thanoftheenduringpowerandprivilegeofpoliticaldynastiesintheIndiansubcontinent. Howcanthisstateofaffairsbecorrected?Whilemostdevelopingcountriesarepursuingvigorous economic development and headline growth rates, it is worth remembering that economic developmentisnotapanaceaforallofthehardshipsthatwomenface.Whilegrowthdoestendto bringhigherliteracyratesandreducedmalnutrition,itdoesnotautomaticallyresultindramatically morerepresentativegovernment. Evenindevelopedcountries,thecorrelationbetweeneducationalattainmentandpublicleadership hasnotbeenapparent.IntheUnitedKingdom,forinstance,over50%ofwomenholdauniversity degree compared with only around 40% of men, yet this has not translated into political power MargaretThatcherstandsoutasalonefemaleprimeminister.InAmericawherehighereducation figuresaresimilartothoseintheUK,lessthan3%ofFortune500companieshaveawomanCEO. Why? Growth and globalisation have created immense economic opportunities for welleducated women but they have also brought with them increasing demands on time, which women, still oftentheprimarycaregiversinfamilies,canillafford.Consider,forexample,themodernfinancial sector.Withtheabilitytomakedealsinstantlyacrosstimezones,money,asthephrasehasit,truly neversleeps.Thosewhotradeinandanalyseinternationalmarkets,therefore,increasinglyadoptan alwaysoncalllifestyle.Suchlivesareverydifficultforparentswithyoungchildrentosustain,and societalmoresoftenexpectawomantosacrificehercareerforherfamily. Eveninothersectors,aglobalizedworkforcenecessitatestheadoptionofglobalizedworkingtimes: wakingupatdawninHongKongtojoinatransnationalconferencecallwithHeadOfficeinCalifornia isnowconsideredanunremarkablerequirementofprofessionalsfromdiversefields.Workingfora multinational corporation often requires global flexibility: moving with the job and uprooting the family.Evenlargecompaniesoftenfailtoaccommodatetheneedsofworkingparentsbyproviding an onsite crche, for example, or allowing staff to adopt flexible working hours while small businessesoftensimplycannotaffordtodoso.Withsomanyhighlyqualifiedwomendroppingout of the workforce midcareer to raise families, few remain to attain the highest offices in both corporate and political spheres. The case of Americas First Family is telling. Michelle Obama, a graduate of Princeton and Harvard, was at one time senior to her husband at the law firm where theymet;aftertheystartedafamily,itwasBarackscareerthataccelerated. How,then,canwegetmorewomentoprepareforandattainpositionsofpublicleadership?Itis importanttorememberthattherearenoquickfixes.Thereasonsformaledominanceinhighoffice aredeeprooted.Religiousandmilitarypowerhavelonggonehandinhandwithpoliticalmight.The traditionalprimacyofwarinnationallifehasnaturallyfavouredmenaspiringtohighpoliticaloffice. And those seeking to exclude women from public office have also often used selective and self servinginterpretationsofreligioustextsandtraditionstobolstertheircause. Governmentsofbothdevelopedanddevelopingcountriesmustworktowidenthepoolofcapable andqualifiedcandidatesforleadershiprolesthroughoutsociety.Onlywhenwomenregularlyattain

thetopjobsrunningschoolsandhospitals,localgovernmentsandcharities,mediaandthearts,and banksandcorporationswilltherebesignificantnumbersofwomenqualifyingtoleadtheircountries. The spread of democracy should give rise to qualified candidates, whatever their background, aspiringtohighoffice.Butthenatureandpracticeofdemocracyisasimportantasthemerefactof it.Mandatoryvotingforallpeopleofvotingagemaybeonemajorstepthatmostcountriescould take towards true democracy. Voting rates amongst women are markedly lower than rates amongst men; hence, if women had to vote then we could expect greater success for female candidates.Implementingfirmceilingsonthevalueofpoliticalcampaigncontributions,too,should reduce the considerable advantage that men who hold a disproportionate share of national wealthhaveinrunningforoffice. Inthedevelopingworld,legislationthatpromotesgenderequalityisoftenalreadyinplace.Itisthe enforcement of these policies the difficulty of changing longstanding practices that is problematic.Itisonethingtopassabillbanninggenderdiscrimination,butquiteanothertomake sure a poor mother feeds her son and daughter equally, to make sure boys and girls receive the same vaccines and the same education, to make sure young women feel safe enough to move to citiestopursueacareer,andtomakesurethatassetsarepasseddowntoallofacouplesheirs,not onlytothemaleones. Similarly, governments in developed countries should not simply congratulate themselves on the higheducationalattainmentoftheirwomen.Corporateculturemayneedagovernmentalnudgeto recognisetheneedsofworkingmothersandthedangersoflosingthem.Fathersincreasinglyplay amoreactiveroleinraisingtheirchildrenthaninpreviousgenerationsthisisatrendthatistobe encouraged,notonlyforthebenefitstothechildrenbutforthealleviationofpressureonmothers who work outside the home or aspire to do so. It is vital that children of both genders be taught theirequalresponsibilitiesandopportunitiesinboththehomeandinpubliclife. TrulysubstantivechangeatthehighestlevelsofgovernmentbeginsnotinDowningStreetandthe White House, Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Kremlin. It begins at more fundamental levels: through systemicchangesinthewaywerunourfamilies,ourcivicinstitutionsandourcorporations.Only whenmenandwomenfeelequallyableandqualifiedtoaspiretotheirnationssupremeofficecan thatnationharnessthefullpotentialofallitspeople.