More women in power but numbers are sparse

Female leaders, despite heading some powerful countries, remain few and far between

Led by Angela Merkel, Hillary Clinton and Theresa May, there have never been so many experienced and ambitious women in positions of influence, even if they remain heavily outnumbered.

Mrs. Clinton has already made history by becoming the first female presidential nominee of a major US political party in her bid for the White House in November.

“This is historic, just as Barack Obama was historic. There is no question about that,” said Ester R Fuchs, professor of public affairs and political science at Columbia University.

Across the Atlantic, “Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher broke the glass ceiling decades ago when she became British prime minister in 1979, and last month Mrs. May did it again.

Angela Merkel has led Germany since 2005, while South Korea, Chile, Brazil, Bangladesh and Liberia are also led by women — as is the International Monetary Fund.

But these leaders remain in a minority and their numbers are only gradually increasing. A study by the Pew Research Center last year found women led only about 10 per cent of UN member states.

“Even while the number of female leaders has more than doubled since 2005, a woman in power is hardly the norm around the world,” it said. There are regional variations, with Finland, Norway and Iceland well used to female leadership, and South and Southeast Asia and South America are performing better than elsewhere, according to UN Women, the Un body championing gender equality.

Past leaders include Indira Gandhi in India, Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan, and Argentina’s Cristina Kirchner, while Aung San Suu Kyi is currently de facto leader of Myanmar.

But it took until 2005 for Africa to have its first female leader, in Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf — although the continent has a better record on ministers.