I'm trying to find a list of countries or societies, around the world,
that are run by women and what their economy, crime, and healthcare is
like in comparison to the US. (At least 5 current ones please) Also, a
list of countries where women have been in power ie: Margaret
Thatcher, Golda Meir and Indira Gandhi and how that reign differed
from their patriarchal counterparts regarding war, healthcare, women's
rights, etc.

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Clarification of Question by jkh-ga on 13 Nov 2002 14:39 PST

Can anyone name at least 3 countries/societies that have womeen running them?

jkh..



Helen Clark - Prime Minister of New Zealand
Clark was elected Prime Minister of New Zealand in 1999 after 30 years
of public service to the island nation.  About the size of Colorado,
New Zealand's population of 3.9 million people have been moving from a
highly agricultural backed economy to one of a more industrialized
nature.  With gross domestic product of around $75 billion, New
Zealand is behind the four largest European Union members, yet has had
a strong growth rate over the last few years even in a sluggish
worldwide economy.  At 5.5%, the unemployment rate of New Zealand is
one of lowest of industrialized nations.

For more information about Helen Clark, visit:
http://www.primeminister.govt.nz/biography.html
For more information about New Zealand, visit:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/nz.html


Mary McAleese - President of the Republic of Ireland
The first woman to succeed another woman, Mary Robinson, McAleese was
elected in 1997.  Slightly larger than the state of West Virginia,
Ireland's economy is highly based upon trade.  3.8 billion Irish enjoy
an unemployment of only 4.3% and a GDP of $104.7 billion.

For more information about Mary McAleese, visit:
http://www.gov.ie/aras/biographies.htm
For more information about the Republic of Ireland, visit:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ei.html

There are other, smaller nations with women as their leaders:

Chandrika Kumaratunga - President of Sri Lanka
(http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ce.html)

Mireya Elisa Moscoso de Arias - President of Panama
(http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/pm.html)

Maria Gloria Macapagal Arroyo - President of the Philippines
(http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/rp.html)

Megawati Sukarnoptri - President of Indonesia
(http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/id.html)


For more information regarding female national leaders, visit
http://www.terra.es/personal2/monolith/00women.htm

For a historical perspective on women as leaders, Women Rulers
throughout the Ages is a book that I would recommend.  You can get
this book at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1576070913/qid=1037238954/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/104-3631609-0483939?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Thank you again for your question and if you need any clarification,
please let me know.

Regards,

-THV

Search Strategy:
women leaders in the world

References:

Women World Leaders
http://www.peoplespot.com/features/womenworldleaders.htm

Women Rulers Currently in Office
http://www.terra.es/personal2/monolith/00women5.htm

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Clarification of Answer by tar_heel_v-ga on 14 Nov 2002 06:11 PST

jkh..

I don't know what happened to my answer, but it appears when I pasted
the answer from my word processor, part of it didn't take. Here is
some additional information that didn't transfer over:

First, as a comparison to the United States, here are some baseline
numbers for use in comparison:

Population: 280.5 Million
Gross Domestic Product: $10 Trillion
Unemployment: 5%
For more information about the United States, visit:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/us.html

There are several leaders of countries in the world that are female. 
Not counting monarchies where the leaders are not elected, such as
Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Margethe II of Denmark and Queen Beatrix of
The Netherlands, there are many elected heads of state and heads of
gvernment that are women.

Tarja Kaarina Halonen - President of Finland
Elected in 2000, Halonen has over 30 years of service to the Finns. 
Finland, slightly smaller than the state of Montana, has a population
of a little over 5 million.  A 9.4% unemployment rate is dropping
dramatically as Finland becomes more involved in the economic
cooperation of the European Union.  With a GDP of $133 billion,
Finland also has similar per capita GDP as the UK, France and Germany.
 Finland was the only Nordic state to embrace the Euro.

For more information on Tarja Halonen, visit:
http://www.tpk.fi/eng/persons/thcv.html

For more information on Finland, visit:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/fi.html

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Request for Answer Clarification by jkh-ga on 17 Nov 2002 09:29 PST

I'm still trying to figure out how their crime, healthcare, etc can be
compared to the United States or their patriarchal predecessors.  I
see the numbers for the US -- and only the bios of the women.  Any
suggestions?

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Clarification of Answer by tar_heel_v-ga on 17 Nov 2002 19:30 PST

jkh..

My apologies.  I thought you changed your question to just get a list
of femal leaders.  Let me research and see if I can find crime rates
statistics and health care information.

-THV

This article may be of interest:

http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/1997/09.25/WomenWhoLead.html

As a UK resident, I can assure you that Thatcher's regime was as
patriarchal as can be.  Most of the time, Thatcher attempted to become
an "honorary male", although occasionally the nanny subpersonality
would come to the fore, but only in a hectoring "now take your castor
oil" sort of way.