The case in summary Less than one percent of women and girls live in a country where women have a lot of power, and gender differences are small, according to the UN. In societies where women decide, their health may be better than in societies where men are leaders. Democracies with a large proportion of female politicians in parliament spend less money on defense and have less conflict-inducing behaviour. When women participate in peace negotiations after civil wars, it helps that the peace agreements last longer. Countries where a relatively large number of women and young people are represented meet more of the UN’s sustainability goals than other countries. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. This year marks 101 years since Norwegian women got the right to vote on an equal basis with men. At the same time, it is 43 years since we had our first female prime minister. During that time, women have gained more power, and the differences between men and women have narrowed. But it is not like that everywhere in the world. Less than one percent of women and girls live in a country where women have a lot of power, and gender differences are small. This is shown by a report from the UN. According to the report, the differences are a problem for both women and all of humanity. And it is perhaps not so strange, if you look at some of the research that has been done on women and power. Here you get six examples. Better health In general, women have higher morbidity than men, while also living longer. But in societies where women decide and pass on inheritance to the next generation of women, their health can be better than that of men who are leaders. This is shown by a study of the Mosuo community in China, which was published in PNAS in 2020. A woman from the Musuo community stands in a street and looks at her mobile phone. Photo: Rod Waddington / Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0 The researchers studied the ethnic group that lives in the mountains of Yunnan and Sichuan. The special thing there is that some villages are ruled by women. In other villages, it is men who have the power. This allowed the researchers to compare people from the same culture, but with different ways of organizing society. They took blood samples and the blood pressure of people and compared the results. What they found was that the differences in the health of men and women were smaller where the women had leadership roles. Nor did it affect men’s health. The researchers write in the study that their findings provide evidence that less independence for women increases their risk of chronic diseases. Less money on the military Democracies with a large proportion of female politicians in parliament appear to spend less money on defence. In addition, the countries have less “behavior that leads to conflicts”, according to researchers. It costs a lot to equip the defense. Photo: Alik Keplicz / AP A study published in The Journal of Politics also shows that countries with female defense ministers have the opposite result. This often leads to increased defense expenditure and a higher level of conflict than in countries where men hold the same positions. The researchers speculate whether it may have something to do with women in such leadership positions having to compensate for stereotypes. One way could be that they are extra tough on foreign policy. Scholarship holder Kari-Anne Helland Barland at NTNU is working on a PhD on female leaders back in history. She says it is debated why these two things happen. – It can probably be very culturally conditioned. But we know that it is the civilians, women and children, who are hit the hardest during war. Kari-Anne Helleland Barland is writing a PhD at the Department of Sociology and Political Science at NTNU. Photo: Sverre Lilleeng / news More often negotiated solutions to armed conflicts Some of the same researchers have also looked at countries where women make up a large proportion of the representatives in parliament. Solutions to civil wars are more often negotiated there. They write that states with civil war can increase the chance of a good solution if women are included in the decision-making bodies. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011. Photo: SIA KAMBOU / AFP – When the war and the conflict move into a phase where you want to negotiate a peace, it is important that women get the opportunity to participate. They can be an important voice that sheds light on consequences of the conflict that might otherwise not have been told. This is important in order to avoid it happening again, says Barland. Peace lasts longer More and more research indicates that when women participate in peace negotiations after civil wars, it also contributes to peace agreements lasting longer. The result is also that the agreements contain several goals for political reforms, write three researchers in International Interactions. Do better on the UN’s sustainability goals The UN’s sustainability goals are a plan to eradicate poverty, stop climate change and fight inequality. The 17 goals must be reached by 2030, and countries can voluntarily report on the progress they are making along the way. In September last year, there was a summit on how the world can achieve the goals for sustainable development. Photo: Richard Drew / AP Countries where relatively many women and young people are represented meet more of the UN’s sustainability goals than other countries. This is according to a study published in Environmental Research Letters. It is particularly in social and economic areas that women and young people have a positive impact, according to the researchers. That in itself will contribute to more peace and prosperity in society as a whole. But it is difficult to find an answer as to why this might be so. Women and democratic development Women’s education is linked to the development of democracies in the world. That’s what the researchers behind a study published in World Development write. – Our results show that women’s rights are strongly linked to democratic development in this period. Schooling is an important factor in the democratization of a society. Photo: Vadim Ghirda / AP In addition, women’s education had an effect after both five and ten years. – This suggests that democracies have a greater chance of being established in countries that have a history of girls receiving education, and a longer experience with the social and economic conditions that have arisen as a result of that investment, the researchers write. Barland at NTNU puts it this way. – It is, in a way, ironic that in the research we can see how much positive can come out of female leadership. But then we see that they are still extremely underrepresented in large parts of the world.
ttn-69
This is how society is influenced by female leaders – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
