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Results so far:
| Male | 45% | 82 votes | Total: 182 votes | |
| Female | 55% | 100 votes |
Male
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Add to FavoritesThough women have proven to be as qualified as men to lead a nation, male leaders can develop closeness with the majority male leaders that a female leader cannot do. They can also disagree more fervently with an opposing opinion without male egos being trampled on. There is the disadvantage to women that a man will not easily turn from his idea to a woman leader's plan because of the unspoken pressure that he will be mocked for letting a woman take his lead. Male leaders usually have wives who can offer contrasting ideas and who better hear the women's ideas as they are presented in various ways, so the women's viewpoints do get assessed without the male verses female pressures.
Women with seemingly no political power have great power to make changes that are needed. In her neighborhood and "church" when she promotes an idea or a solution to other women, these other women have husbands, fathers, brothers and sons so the ideas are getting to the places needed to make changes. They will be debated and any wise solutions will be accepted perhaps more easily than if she were a political leader presenting the idea at a conference. The lead time for discussion is powerful to gain support and to disclose weaknesses and strengths of the idea and to compare them with the ideas presently on the table.
In developing countries and in developed countries, women who are not looking to show they are superior to men or looking to receive a name for themselves can achieve great advancement of their causes. Whether a woman or a man is leading, if they do not use God's written wisdom, they will have opposition and they will bring prosperity to their nation only with bondage and sorrow. Our world has had seemingly brilliant women leaders even in our greatest nations; but they could not bring peace nor solve world problems.
Many people want to establish women as leaders in developing countries because they believe a woman should have the right to work outside the home and establish her own identity and career. It sounds like a good idea until you see the result it has on a the families and the whole culture.
The United States has many women leaders in government and in business and many more women work in various positions outside the home. So far, we live in a state of denial thinking that we have done a good thing for women and society. The evidence shows that we are using flawed judgment and ignoring the evidence seeming to shout at us from many areas.
Women outside the home contribute to an increase in divorce and bad health due to poor nutrition. Children are raised by strangers with no authority to discipline and they have become disrespectful, lazy, and mostly useless to themselves and their family and community. They are a danger to themselves and the community.
Our daughters no longer understand their purpose in society to bear children, guide them and hold the family and community together with love and helpfulness. Many women now realize that they cannot be a proper mother and wife while working outside the home. Now many are giving up seemingly great careers for the fulfilling job of loving and caring for their families.
With evidence that is strong, it is best that a male lead a developing nation and his wife be an example of a woman at home as a support and help for her husband, her children and her community.
Learn more about this author, Marie Devine.
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Female
The concept of potential superior female leadership of developing countries is a theoretical idea at best. It is highly unlikely that women will achieve political prominence in any of the less developed countries of the world in the foreseeable future. In a United Nations Press Release at the beginning of 2008, Secretary Anders Johnsston postulated that the world would likely not see equal male/female representation in parliament before the midpoint of this century.
Sadly, there are several monumental obstacles that must be hurdled before global parity in political leadership can be reached. It will be, potentially, even longer for women to assume leadership in developing countries. Even America, considered progressive and forward in her thinking, has waited for over two hundred years before seriously considering putting a woman in the White House. Currently, over 83% of the seats in both US houses of congress are still held by men.
Thirteen of the world's developing countries have no female ministerial representation in their cabinets. Eight other countries have no female parliamentary representation, while another seven have less than 3% of legislative seats occupied by women. In many of these regions a woman is not accorded the same rights and privileges as her husband and her primary role is bearing children. Still other nations deny women basic human rights and treat them, not as persons, but as chattel. It is not even conceivable that these countries, so far removed from dignifying the role of women in their societies, could possibly sanction women in positions of political leadership. Their governments are years away from recognizing the valuable contributions that might be made by female leaders.
Women have historically involved themselves in social reforms and philanthropic endeavors. This is partly because they have not been permitted to engage in the political and financial fields of their respective governments. However, to be fair, the female sex has always been more responsive to the plight of depressed and downtrodden peoples due to her traditional role as nurturer. Unfortunately, male leaders who have engaged in humanitarian efforts have been lauded as savvy politicians while the same activity, conducted by women, has been viewed as an appropriate venue for the weaker sex to involve themselves in.
In many cultures a man may be verbally assertive, even aggressive, and his actions are seen as an indication of his prowess and strength. But let a woman speak abrasively or even bluntly within a public forum and she is described as "lacking in breeding," or worse yet, "whining."
What might a woman in leadership have to offer a developing country? Would she offer the steady guiding hand needed to birth democracy and grow a stable economy? Most assuredly. Could she use the gift of being a visionary in addressing global issues? Absolutely. Would she find the time to visit orphans and develop literacy programs within her country while being an emissary of good will outside her borders? She would. How could she so effectively do these things? Primarily because being a woman, she is a master at multi-tasking and by nature, a better listener and negotiator than most men. But this is all a matter of semantics, because we are talking about an idea that much of the world is still unprepared to entertain; much less the developing countries of the world.
Cultural bias, the ignorance of those less civilized, and social traditions have historically done women a great disservice. The assertion that women could more effectively lead developing countries is, at best, hypothetical. But do they deserve the equal opportunity to try? You bet! Ask me again in another forty years or so and perhaps I'll be able to back up my theoretical support of women leadership in developing countries with proven success.
References
http://www.usatoday. com/news/world/2008- 02-29-un-women-parli amentarians_N.htm
Learn more about this author, Dr. Deborah Bauers.
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