The rise of women in politics

The word politics used to be synonymous with the male gender. However, in recent years there has been a rise of female politicians with countries such as the  United Kingdom, Argentina, and Germany all appointing female heads of state. And not to forget about the US Elections, with of course Hillary Clinton battling for the White House alongside Donald Trump.

So what has changed? Has our society become so progressed in terms of gender equality, that we no longer believe that women can't make good leaders? Have we finally broken the glass ceiling, a term used by Clinton throughout her presidential campaign? The UK especially has both England, Scotland and Northern Ireland with female leaders which are great to see. Most notably Scotland, with their powerhouse of a leader Nicola Sturgeon, who is doing a brilliant job leading the SNP.

I think it is so important to live in a society that sets a good example to its young generation. I mean in terms of a little girl, who in school wants to become an astronaut, politician,  engineer, she should be fully exposed to women in high power jobs. It is crucial for young girls to be aware that yes, you can become whatever you want, without gender roles and traditions getting in the way of things. From my own experience, I remember being in school and being surrounded by girls who didn't necessarily have the same career aspirations as I did. Maybe it's the case of parenting and encouraging children to go far in life - I was always under the impression that girls in my school weren't encouraged to follow careers, but instead finish school, settle down and have a family. My two best friends and I were different, we always had clear career ideas. But were these other girls, who didn't possess the same career drive, too used to seeing men associated with certain jobs, and thought to themselves that they couldn't do that because of their gender? Does our society through devices such as the media and the Internet, subliminally send messages to stop us becoming certain things? It definitely does make you think how society has presented the two genders up against each other and sending very clear gender roles and expectations. However, I did attend a comprehensive secondary school in quite a backward town and socio-economic factors do come into play there. However, that is a whole different discussion for another day.

Getting back to my point, I think it is great to see women entering the political sphere and setting an example for young people. It does not matter what your gender is, you should be free to become whatever it is you like. Politics became too male dominated, and it is relief to see that glass ceiling arguably become more and more cracked as the decade's pass. Overall, it shouldn't be shocking to see women as successful business people, politicians, doctors, activists. This should be the norm.