WOMEN CHIEF EXECS: INCREASING COUNT, KUDOS TO WOMEN POWER!

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Women are making themselves felt more and more in the field of state governance these days. It surely pays to reflect on the increasing ascent of women in this field of endeavor.

In my own country PH, women have since expanded their presence in the top management of state and business bureaucracies. Latest count by the commission on women puts the number at 40% of total exec seats held by women, which renders PH among the exemplars of women empowerment in Asia and the world.

Our immediate past president, Gloria Arroyo, showed her own executive acumen as the Philippines graduated to middle income status from that of a poor 3^{rd world country during her incumbency. In 1986, our first lady president Corazon Aquino became the iconic symbol of democracy domestically and worldwide. Both lady leaders joined the select coterie of globally influential lady execs for their exemplary feats.}

The most recent additions to the lady chief execs are Australia’s Premier Julia Gillard and Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff. I’ve already expressed my kudos to the noblesse ladies, and I wish that they will propel their respective countries towards greater growth and magnanimity in the global community.

The latest gender report shows the following list of lady chief execs (see AFP, 2011):

Australia: Prime Minister Julia Gillard

Argentine: President Cristina Kirchner

Bangladesh: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed

Brazil: President Dilma Rousseff

Costa Rica: President Laura Chinchilla

Croatia: Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor

Finland: President Tarja Halonen

Germany: Chancellor Angela Merkel

Iceland: Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir

India: President Pratibha Patil

Ireland: President Mary McAleese

Kyrgyztan: Interim President Roza Otunbayeva

Liberia: President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Lithuania: President Dalia Grybauskaite

Slovakia: Prime Minister Iveta Radicova

Switzerland: Confederal President Doris Leuthard

Trinidad & Tobago: Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar

Goodwill and best wishes to all the women chief execs! Mabuhay!

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ADVOCACY & DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES UPDATE

Erle Frayne Argonza

 

Good morning from Manila!

 

An advocacy source book was recently released, produced by Wateraid. The book serves as guideline for advocacy action planning and related matters.

 

See this interesting piece below.

 

[03 October 2008, Quezon City, MetroManila. Thanks to Eldis database reports.]

 

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The Advocacy Sourcebook

Produced by: Wateraid (2007)

Over 1.1 billion people around the world do not have access to safe water and over 2.6 billion do not have access to safe sanitation. This sourcebook provides guidance for users in drawing up advocacy action plans that aim to improve the water supply and sanitation situation of the poorest people in the countries where they work. It is aimed at Wateraid staff and partner organisations but can be used by anyone interested in advocacy.

An introduction is given to advocacy followed by step by step guidance on how to produce a water and sanitation advocacy project.

Sections include:

• Water Aid and advocacy
• Rooted advocacy
• Planning for advocacy
• Making advocacy happen
• Advocacy actions
• Monitoring and evaluation.

Examples of WaterAid and its partners’ advocacy work in practice are provided throughout the sourcebook to inform and demonstrate what effective advocacy looks like. An advocacy toolkit is provided including tools, pro-formas, tables and diagrams

Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/?doc=39565&em=240908&sub=enviro

US WATCH: IT’S THE ECONOMY!

Erle Frayne  Argonza

The US presidential polls are approaching. The Democrat Party nomination was recently concluded, and there goes the polls.

As an observer of ‘US reality’, I’d candidly say that if there’s anything most worrisome in the US right now, it’s the economy. Without the pejorative ‘stupid’ by the way, I leave that to Bill Clinton’s spin doctors.

Whoever wins, and whoever would be vice president, this tandem of statesmen (hopefully) will have to go about moving heaven and earth to salve the ailing economy. The ailment is not just a structural one that will be resolved with some palliatives.

First of all is the recession. There is no more denying about this fact. The more that the fed and monetary officials would deny information, the greater the amount of suspicion, the greater the legitimacy question. It was good that finally, there was the admission about the sad state of the economy.

Now, folks, most especially you American voters out there, the recession may not be the end of the downspin yet. Watch out, for the recession could well slide into depression. A 6-quarter period of sustained depression (which means a contraction below the established average, or below zero growth) could be the final blow to the long-drawn drift towards the total collapse of the once-mighty US economy.

Look at the signs of the times, Joe! After World War II, the US produced 40% of the Gross World Product or GWP. It’s now down to 22%. The EU, by integrating their economies, produce a similar aggregate of 22% of GWP. The trend is still of a downward drift, including the EU’s, over the years, not an upward lift.

As to what has been causing the downward drift, let’s take those matters slowly in quite chewable fashion. For now, it’s clear to this observer that “it’s the economy” and not the war or parochial sectoral matters such as immigration, gender, more autonomy for states and cities, and so on.

[Writ 05 June 2008, Quezon City, MetroManila]