It's been 8 years since I last posted on this blog! I took a leadership position that compelled me, with good reasons, to take a moment of silence on this blog. But I am now back and excited about sharing stories of women who have and are making an impact in economics and politics around the world.
So much has happened!!!
Let's start in 2018:
U.S. Congress saw a historic number of women take seats in House when the 116th Congress convened in 2018. 102 women serve in the House of Representatives making up nearly a quarter of its voting membership. More than one third of them won seats for the first time in the the mid-term elections. A pew survey in 2018 found that most Americans favor seeing more women in high political offices.
Next 2019:
December 1, 2019 Ursula Von der Leyen was elected first female president of the European Commission. The European Commission is the E.U.'s politically independent executive arm whose sole responsibility is drawing up proposals for new European legislation, as well as implementing the decisions of the European parliament and the Council of the E.U. Ursula is a German politician. She was the longest-serving member of Angela Merkel's government. She is a trained physician who specialized in women's health. She lived in Stanford, California for four years while her husband (a fellow physician) served on the faculty of Stanford University. They have seven children and for a time in the 1990s, Ursula was a stay-home-mom. I would like to think that it was in this role that she honed in her skills as a strategic leader.
November 2019, Christine Lagarde was tapped and elected as President of the European Central Bank (ECB). Christine had just ended her 8 years of service as Chair and Managing Director of the International Monetary Bank (IMF). Christine believes that hiring more women and abolishing discriminatory laws would significantly boost the world economy. She demonstrated this belief when she appointed Dr. Nancy Onyango as Director of Audit and Inspection at the IMF. Ms. Lagarde is a French politician and Lawyer. She was the first woman to become finance minister of a G8 economy and is the first woman to head each the ECB and IMF. As a teenager, Ms Lagarde was a member of the French national synchronized swimming team.
In 2020 - despite the COVID-19 pandemic and a tumultuous campaign ...
America elected her first female VP!!! She is also the first Woman of Color elected into the second highest political office. This is HISTORIC!!!! Kamala has also had other "firsts." She is was elected as first women and first African American to serve as California's Attorney General. She is intelligent, bold, firm and also compassionate. She will afford many women opportunities to rise to their potential as leaders. We are all looking forward to her leadership as Vice President of the United States of America.
Last but not least I want to acknowledge today's appointment of ...
Kim Ng as the first woman General Manager of a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. The Marlins appointed Ms. Ng as the next GM of their team. She is also the first Asian American GM. This is also HISTORIC in the world of sports! will be the highest-ranking woman in baseball operations among the league's 30 teams and is the first female GM in any of the major North American men's sports leagues.
Many firsts for women this past few years and in the years to come. I am elated to see how women are taking the helm in various institutions around the world. Perhaps now there will be a little more sanity and balance as the world goes round!!!
Let me hear your thoughts!
