WUNRN
WOMEN OF POWER - HALF A CENTURY OF
FEMALE PRESIDENTS & PRIME MINISTERS WORLDWIDE - BOOK
Author/Editor(s):
Torild
Skard
Format:
Hardback, 576 pages - Published: 30 Jul 2014
North America customers can order this book here from the University of Chicago Press.
About the Book
Do
women national leaders represent a breakthrough for the women’s movement, or is
women’s leadership weaker than the numbers imply? This unique book is the first
to provide a comprehensive overview of how and why women in 53 countries rose
to the top in the years since World War II. It presents all 73 female
presidents and prime ministers from around the world, from 1960 (when the first
was elected) to 2010, organised by chronology and geography. Written by an
experienced politician and academic, the introduction outlines the five
forerunners on different continents from 1960 to 1975, then goes on to discuss
world developments, concepts and methodological issues. The motives,
achievements and life stories of the female top leaders, including findings
from interviews carried out by the author, are then described and analysed to
provide a nuanced picture of women in power. A series of regional chapters
provide a global overview, and conclusions are drawn and discussed. This
fascinating reader will have wide international appeal to students, academics,
government officials, women’s and political activists as well as anyone
interested in international affairs, politics, social issues, gender and
equality.
Author Biography
Torild
Skard is a Senior Researcher in Women’s Studies at the Norwegian Institute of
International Affairs in Oslo, specialising in women in politics. A pioneer in
the women’s movement nationally and internationally, she was formerly a MP and
the first woman President of the Norwegian Upper House. She has also been
Director for the Status of Women in UNESCO Paris, Regional Director in UNICEF
West- and Central Africa and Director General in the Norwegian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. She has written numerous books and articles on women’s issues,
particularly women in politics and travels widely studying and promoting the
status of women.
Contents
Preface
Introduction
Breakthrough on Several Continents
Women in Politics
Western Industrial Countries I
‘Roaring She-tigers’
in South Asia
Equilibrists in East Asia
Machism, Marianism, Modernism in Latin America
Lopsided Democracies in the Caribbean
‘Big Chiefs’
in Sub-Saharan Africa
Eastern Bloc from Communism to Capitalism
Western Industrial Countries II
Women National Leaders
When Women Make It.