6 Positive Guidelines from Michaëlle Jean, Canada’s Governor General

Michaëlle Jean, the Governor General of Canada, was interviewed by Aaron Wherry for the 14Jan 2008 Maclean’s magazine: Canadians Get Their Very Own Oprah (although I was disappointed to find the article about a leading Canadian woman a bit buried on the Maclean’s site) . In this article, she shared some of her strategies for [...]

A Positive Campaign Pays Off: Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard

On 24 November 2007, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard were elected as Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Australia.
This was hardly expected. The on-line Progress Magazine described the surprise:
…”it has been argued that Howard simply outstayed his welcome, had grown tired and voters were attracted by a dynamic and fresh alternative. However, on its [...]

A Positive Vision for Women in Politics: What Would It Take?

 What do you think it would take to create a way for women to aspire to being a politician and confident that they won’t have to change their style to a culture of “maleness”? (And what does that mean, anyway?)
Bethan Jenkins, the youngest female Member of the National Assembly for Wales wrote an interesting post [...]

Women Blogging on Politics

Catherine Morgan has been creating a list of women who blog about politics — and she’s up to 200 and counting!
To see her list, pop over to her Informed Voters blog.
Following the creation of her list, she started a whole new blog called the Political Voices of Women to give women political bloggers another platform [...]

What to Wear: Does it Matter?

I have to say that I’m posting this having a history of a very conflicted relationship with clothes.
 
And I get very frustrated when I want to read about a woman candidate’s political vision and what I get is a blow-by-blow of what she was wearing and how her hair was done. Or not.
But I also [...]

Why Elect More Women?

I received a news release today from Equal Voice, a multi-partisan non-profit organization that works to promote the election of more women in Canadian politics. This release congratulated Jean Charest, the new premier of Québec, for creating a cabinet that consists of 50% men and 50% women. It also included quotes from leaders of federal [...]

Claire McGill and Jo Deehan in Ireland

I’ve been seeing a lot of stories recently about women getting involved in politics for the first time or choosing to move to a “higher” level of representation. I thought I would share some of these profiles as I find it inspiring that these women are “taking the leap” in spite of their recognition that [...]

Women in Politics: How Can it Make a Difference?

I was asked by a man the other day why I believe it is important for more women to get involved in politics.
He was reacting to comments I had made about the need for a different approach in politics – the “kinder, gentler” collaborative/connective approach of a positive politics — and the need for women’s [...]

UN Launches a New On-line Network for Women in Politics

On 27 February, The United Nations launched an on-line network as a gathering place for women involved in politics all around the world.
Here are snippets from their Newsroom release:
New virtual network unites women in politics around the globe
New York — ‘iKNOW Politics,’ the first virtual network linking women in politics throughout the world, was launched [...]

Women in Power: Our Changing Times?

I want to share Arati Jerath’s article on Women in Power from the on-line newspaper Daily News and Analysis, originating in India. It caught my attention because one of my special interests is the need for more women in politics in Canada.
I presented recently at the Ontario Electoral Reform community hearings and got into a [...]