Toni kamau’s Blog

I am a woman and I love everything about being a woman. We are nurturing, compassionate, hardworking, good at communication and generally make good leaders. However, this is an overall generalization of our gender. Our roles have changed in modern society, therefore not all women are “naturally” nurturing.

With that in mind, I had said that I believe women generally make good leaders, but this is when our soft (people) skills that are inherent in women are combined with intelligence, hard work, wisdom and a dash of good luck in having the right people around you.

We need more women in positions of leadership. Women are half of the population, however few countries have 50% representation in their leadership, even the United States of America. We need more women leaders; therefore it was no surprise to hear that much ado was made about Sarah Palin being named as McCain’s running mate. This was reflected in his ratings surging among voters in the American population, especially since a number of female Democrats who supported Hillary Clinton felt that Sarah was a good enough make do for their woman missing out on the party ticket. I thought it was great for him to choose a woman, however, I have issues about the individual he chose. 

I worry when people choose women as leaders just because of their gender. Sarah Palin was in no way qualified to be McCain’s second in command, apart from the fact that she was a woman. It’s not PC to say it but it is true. A running mate is next in line to run the country if God forbid, anything happens to the president. Sarah Palin, as governor of Alaska, had never set out of her country before she was nominated. Never set out of her country! Foreign policy is one of America’s biggest issues right now and Mr. McCain chose a running mate who has never set out of her country! Her ignorance on foreign affairs issue as well as her poor grasp of the key issues in the elections is becoming clearer and clearer every time she opens her mouth. It’s especially a shame that he chose Sarah Palin when there are many more qualified and intelligent women in his ranks such as Senator Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison from Texas and let’s not forget Condoleeza Rice who is the Secretary of State! At least twenty-nine more women in his party are more qualified than her on every single level.

It pains me when I see one of the oldest democracies in the world make such a grave mistake. We need more women in leadership positions, however a woman is not fit to be a leader just because she has breasts and a pretty mouth. Placing unqualified women in positions of leadership does more damage to the struggle for gender equality than not having a woman in such a position. Because the naysayers, those who stand in the way of a world where women have equal rights and have an equal voice will say. “ Look! I told you a woman can’t lead! Look at what she is doing.” 

We have the same problem in our country; how many of our female leaders have inherited seats from their deceased relatives or been nominated just because they were women who were making noise? Women are unique, no two women are the same; and it is time for the world to stop looking at our gender as a whole and to start looking at us as individuals. As it is with men, some women are capable and some are not, but that doesn’t mean that our entire gender should be denied the chance to lead. I want more women in leadership, but I will say no to incompetent women in leadership positions; a big NO to the Sarah Palin error which does more harm than good for the women’s cause.