Obama's interviewer - former Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop - replied, saying female leaders would only need six months. Data, however, shows that even the far more modest goal of parity between the sexes in global leadership remains distant.
Fewer than a third of the UN's 193 member states have ever had a female leader and, while there has been a huge proportional rise in women at the top of global politics in the past 20 years, the numbers remain incredibly low.
Only 12 UN member states have female leaders, down from 17 in 2022. Research from UN Women suggests that gender equality at the highest positions of power will not be reached for 130 years. The growth in the number of female leaders has plateaued.
In January, Jacinda Ardern resigned as prime minister of New Zealand saying she "no longer had enough in the tank" to do the job. Moldova's Natalia Gavrilita quit as prime minister in February, blaming crises caused by "Russian aggression". Nicola Sturgeon stood down in February after more than eight years as Scotland's first minister, saying the "time was right".
This month, Sanna Marin - the world's youngest prime minister - lost a closely fought election in Finland.
Denne historien er fra April 14, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
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Denne historien er fra April 14, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Starlink's conquest of the Amazon leaves Brazil in a dilemma
The helicopter swooped into one of the most inaccessible corners of the Amazon rainforest. Brazilian special forces commandos leaped from it into the caiman-inhabited waters below.
Dalai Lama's mountain town feels the strain of tourist boom
SUVs and saloon cars pass slowly along McLeod Ganj's narrow one-way Jogiwara Road, blaring horns at pedestrians and scooter riders and playing loud music.
'I am all the world' The brutal rule of a West Bank settler
Palestinians tell ofblacklisted Yakov's reign across the Jabal Salman valley and heisjust one of many violent bosses
Stormy waters New flashpoint emerges in South China Sea dispute
Hopes that tensions in the South China Sea might ease have been short lived.
'Justice delayed' Why trust in public inquiries to bring closure is fading
After the final report of the Grenfell fire inquiry was published, Hisam Choucair, who lost six family members in the blaze, said: \"We did not ask for this inquiry... It's delayed the justice my family deserves.\"
Celeriac soup with almond pangrattato
I'm not ashamed to say that as soon as September hits, my stick blender comes out. Just as I embrace salads when the clocks go forward in the UK, I wholeheartedly throw myself into soup season once the summer holidays end. Autumn is approaching in the northern hemisphere and I'm ready with my ladle. Celeriac is one of my favourite soup heroes, because it gives the creamiest, silkiest finish with little effort. You don't have to make the almond pangrattato, but it is a wonderful addition.
Are smoke signals telling me to make an oil change in the kitchen?
Should you that is, not can you) cook with extra-virgin olive oil? Antonio, Atlanta, Georgia, US
Going underground
A darkly humorous encounter between an American spy-cop and the members ofan eco-commune she is hired to infiltrate
All work and no play
Hard Graft, a powerfulnew London exhibition, focuses onworkers’ exploitation, from the ruined hands ofa washerwoman to mothers forced to sell their bodies
What the princess and the shaman tell us about hereditary privilege
It should have been an Instagram-perfect wedding image, but it turned out to be something more embarrassing.