As we’ve already discussed here the past few weeks have seen a worrying roll back of women in senior positions in Westminster. So we’re delighted that this week has seen two strong women stand up for what they believe in:
On Monday Trinidad and Tobago elected their very first female Prime Minister. Kamla Persad-Bissessar was elected to lead a coalition government, ousting the long serving Prime Minister Patrick Manning. We don’t know much about Trinidadian politics and would be interested to know more about Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s policies and priorities, especially how they will impact on the rights of women. The OECD has an overview of the country’s record up till now here.
Closer to home, former MP, Oona King has stepped forward as the first person to launch her bid to become Labour’s candidate for London Mayor. Other candidates are likely to include former Mayor, Ken Livingston and possibly current MP David Lammy. The Labour party will pick its candidate for Mayor at the same time as they pick their new leader, and we’ll find out who will be challenging Boris Johnson in 2012 when the results are announced in September.
We send both women our very best wishes.
Don’t forget, we’ve still got time to get more great women to run for the Labour leadership. And if you get any interesting responses, do let us know in the comments below or by emailing us.