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I.    INTRODUCING CROATIA’S NEW FEMALE PRIME MINISTER

There is a new addition to the elite group of women who lead nations.  The Honorable Jadranka Kosor became Croatia’s first female Prime Minister on July 6, 2009, after the mid-term resignation of former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader who had served for six years.  Her ascension increases the number of women serving as Presidents or Prime Ministers to 18 or 9.2% of the total number of leaders holding these titles – a sharp increase from 5.4% in 2004 when the Global Summit of Women first started tracking these numbers.

A former Minister of Family, Veterans and Inter-generational Solidarity, Ms. Kosor also served as Croatia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Vice President of the Croatian Democratic Union.  She is credited with doubling the number of female candidates in her party during the 2000 elections. In her recent speech to her parliamentary colleagues to secure their support, she made a direct appeal to the women MPs:  “"Women should be given a chance where there is real power and money. This is a right opportunity for that," she said and added further:  “I will lead both the government and the (HDZ) party with a strong female hand.”

A lawyer by training who built an exemplary career as a journalist prior to entering politics, Prime Minister Kosor faces an economic crisis as well as the challenge of reviving Croatia’s stalled efforts to become a member of the European Union. (Source:  Yahoo.com, 7/6/09).

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II.      XEROX’S NEWEST CEO:  URSULA BURNS

At Xerox’s May shareholder’s meeting, Ursula Burns was named as the successor to current CEO Anne Mulcahy, who was stepping down in a well-planned transition.  Burns will be the first African American female CEO, making Xerox the first Fortune 500 company to be headed back to back by two women.  Mulcahy is credited for turning Xerox around and saving it from near bankruptcy.  She has also successfully executed a smooth succession in the leadership of the company, providing continuity of the turnaround she spearheaded.  The number of women CEOs of U.S. Fortune 500 companies remains, however, at 15, or 3%.

Burns has played a pivotal role at Xerox in recent years: overseeing corporate strategy, global accounts, IT and human resources. She worked alongside Mulcahy during her efforts to revitalize Xerox. Burns successfully negotiated with the company's unions to cut thousands of jobs. While Xerox's share price is still low, the company is profitable again and has expanded its market. At a speech at Oregon State University in September, Burns commented on Xerox’s turnaround:  "We are poised for greatness and for success. We have pulled ourselves back from the brink of bankruptcy and taught ourselves that we can do just about anything we aspire to do, if we work hard and put our head down."   (Source:  NPR News, 5/22/09)

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III.      ECONOMIC DOWNTURN YIELDS GENDER GAP IN U.S. UNEMPLOYMENT

The Wall Street Journal (7/7/09) notes that while “the current recession is hitting workers in just about every industry…men are taking a much bigger hit than women.  The 2.3 percentage point gap between (U.S.) men’s June unemployment rate of 10.6% and women’s 8.3% rate is near the highest it has ever been since records started beginning to be kept in 1948.”

The Journal attributes the reason for the gap to the fact that two male dominated industries – construction and manufacturing – make up half of the 6.5 million jobs lost during the recession, which began on December 2007. The sectors which showed net job growth, however, are health care and education – areas where women workers are in greater numbers.

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IV.       IRANIAN WOMEN:  PARITY IN PROTEST

During the mass demonstrations that followed the recent Iranian presidential elections, TV images and news photos showed thousands of Iranian women standing alongside men in protest against the election results, which they claimed to have been fraudulent.  One female protester stated:  “This regime is against all humanity, more specifically against all women….  I see lots of girls and women in these demonstrations.  They are all angry, ready to explode, scream out and let the world hear their voice.”

While the majority of Iranian college students are women, the laws of the land do not accord them parity with men.  Women do not have the same rights as men when it comes to divorce, child custody, inheritance and crime.  According to Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s Chief International Correspondent, President Ahmadinejad has made it easier for men to practice polygamy and harder for women to access public sector jobs.

                Women’s issues came up in the campaign, with opposition candidate Moussavi campaigning with his wife, a highly respected academic, while promising to look into parts of the Iranian constitution that deferred women’s rights to sharia or Islamic law.  With the ensuing crackdown by the government on all protesters, it remains to be seen to what extent women can continue to add their voices for change. (Source:  CNN.com, 6/19/09).

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