How Gender Equality is Catalytic for Economic Development

This post is part of a series in which Influencers and members discuss how to drive change that matters. Read all the posts here and write your own; include the hashtag #2030NOW in the body of your post.

I am the eldest of four daughters. We grew up on a farm in New Zealand, at Te Pahu in the Waikato region. My mother, Margaret, was a primary school teacher, and my father George ran the farm. My mother was a loving parent and had an inquiring mind. Both of my parents enjoyed visiting me at Premier House during my nine years as New Zealand Prime Minister. They particularly liked coming to Parliament to watch me at “question time” and the pageantry of the State Opening of Parliament after each election.

I have been very fortunate to have been able to do all that I have done with my life, and not to be limited by poor resources and no choices – so many people around the world face serious constraints on reaching their full potential. Contributing to changing that has been central to my life’s work and mission.

As one who became the first elected female Prime Minister of my country and the first woman to lead the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), I believe that achieving full equality for woman is not only a human right, but also that it is catalytic for development as a whole in creating political, economic, and social opportunities for women which have widespread and inter-generational benefits.

I was an elected Member of the New Zealand Parliament for 27.5 years. Being selected to compete for a parliamentary constituency where my party was likely to win was one of the hardest steps on that journey. Many viewed that constituency as “a working man’s seat,” forgetting that there were actually as many female as male voters.

As a candidate and young MP, I faced challenges that many “would be” female politicians face. I had to battle with other people’s assumptions, including those of the news media. I had to build networks of support, and I needed to build alliances around issues I thought were important, but which wouldn’t necessarily have been a high priority in a parliament where the majority of members were, and still are, male.

Women still make up only 21.9 percent of the world’s parliamentarians – well short of the thirty per cent target set in the Millennium Development Goals.

It does take a lot of confidence – and in some circumstances a lot of courage too - to step forward for public office where few women have gone before, but I have a message to those women who are considering taking the leap: if you believe you have something to contribute, step forward!

And some advice: believe in yourself, accept the support being offered by others, and also, very importantly, support other women along the path you have followed.

Share your thoughts by writing a post on LinkedIn and be sure to use the hashtag #2030NOW somewhere in the body. Add the link for us all to read here in the comments below and tweet it to us via @LinkedInPulse.

https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140920125928-338512192-how-gender-equality-is-catalytic-for-economic-development