Source: World Population Review-Country Rankings-Country-with- Female-Leaders
Please, stare at this image of our planet, flattened to allow us to consider all recognized countries. Without any additional information, what does the color/non-color express to you?
As we pause to recognize International Women’s Day 2024, I share this data as a call to action for this year’s theme, Inspire Inclusion. When discussion of ideas, strategies, and plans excludes women’s knowledge, experience, and perspectives, fundamental inequity is more likely to persist in every sector – governance, media, education, economics, and human rights.
In 2020, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation conducted a study with AKAS Consulting and found that “the voice of every woman is drowned out by up to [voices of] six men.” On high-profile beats such as the economy, that ratio goes up to 31 times higher than that of women.” The lead on that research, Luba Kassova, reports in 2023 that at the current pace, achieving equity for women in the workforce, news production, and editorial decision-making will take another 67 years to close the average gender equality gap in traditional news media.
Women’s voices matter, and women have some catching up to do to choose to express, be heard, and participate. Men’s voices matter too, primarily when their communication and action can focus on amplifying the female perspective and honoring a commitment to equality in research, reporting, and reinforcement of inclusion in all domains of decision-making that influence and produce an experience of human dignity.
Women represent 50.9% of the world population yet continue to be governed predominantly by men, with a majority identified as non-Hispanic white men. There is some good news when viewed through the goal of equality in representation and decision-making. The World Economic Forum reports, “While most countries have been ruled almost entirely by men throughout their histories, more and more countries are electing women to high political offices, including heads of state." Is this overly optimistic? Change requires awareness that builds desire—a desire to gain valuable and relevant knowledge from which to imagine and create solutions—solutions that attract essential investment along with endorsement and resources to implement action. Without equitable representation in every aspect of human society, change becomes inherently biased toward the majority perspective in powerful decision-making roles.
The United States has yet to elect a female president, yet it is making strides in the area of gender equality. Kamala Harris serves as the first female vice president and African American and Asian-American vice president in US History. Ketanji Brown-Jackson is the first African American woman to serve on the US Supreme Court. However, women account for only 28.4% of the US Congress.
Data reported from Pew Research spotlights a couple of high points. Twelve women hold Cabinet and Cabinet-Level positions in US President Biden’s administration or 48% of that team. For executive business leadership, 11% of Fortune 500 company
CEOs and 30% of Fortune 500 board members are women.
However, data from UN Women shows that women continue to be underrepresented at all levels of decision-making worldwide and that achieving gender parity in political life is far off. Only 31 of 151 UN member countries have women who serve as heads of state and government, with just 26.5% of members having women serving as members of parliament or as cabinet ministers. Of the 193 recognized nations globally, 62% have never elected a woman. Perhaps more disturbing is that men continue to dominate policy in the areas of defense and economy, with women focused on human rights, gender equality, and social protection policy portfolios.
Who is a woman who shares perspective, knowledge, and ideas with you that motivate you to change? Please take a moment to tell her and encourage her to share her voice. Offer your support to have at least one more person hear her voice, more if that’s something you can choose.
Modern life is complex and uncertain at a level those living today have not experienced before. No person can perceive, understand, and know all that’s occurring and influencing our experience. We truly need each other, our voices, our passion, and our commitment to human dignity. Think twice as you participate in civil discourse about what you don’t yet know and who you could listen to, find out about, and expand on what informs your opinions and choices. The possibility for a thriving civil society carries with it our responsibility to choose to participate in every conversation as a representative who cares about a world that works for all.