Tag: Odds

There’s a huge amount of variation in women’s political representation across Africa, a fact shown by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and UN Women’s map of Women in Politics. They argue that it’s not entirely coincidental that many of the countries making the greatest progress in including women in politics are making far less progress in terms of democracy. There may be no guarantee it promotes democracy. For example, several recent studies show that improving the representation of women in parliament has a positive impact on the health sector. Other researchers have shown that increases in the number of women in parliament are associated with a variety of positive health outcomes. In short, if expanding the political representation of women is to have an effect anywhere, it ought to be in the health sector (and, of course, in women’s rights). In the case of research showing the link between “quota shocks” and health spending, for instance, there is a correlation – but claims about causal effects remain questionable. It will also allow international donors to help women in politics make a positive difference. With this in mind, an ongoing collaboration between the University of Birmingham and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy – supported by the Institute for Global Innovation – has started to ask some important questions about women in African parliaments. It will also help female politicians in Africa to make a difference against the odds.

Kanye West has been a vocal supporter of President Trump since the 2016 election. According to the New York Times, the rapper is headed to the Washington to have lunch with the president Buzz60 It’s the celebrity feud that will not die. Call it an unforeseen effect of the Donald Trump era that Swift and West have become representatives of America’s political divide – in a way that nobody could have ever predicted nearly a decade ago, when the two stars’ fates collided onstage at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. How different things are now. After stepping away from public appearances shortly after his summit with the president-elect at Trump Tower in 2016, West returned with a vengeance this year, bringing his Make America Great Again hat with him. He praised Trump on Twitter and, most recently, in a monologue on “Saturday Night Live” – again deleting his social media accounts after embarking on several politically motivated rants. From associating with alt-right figures to sharing his questionable takes on slavery, West’s political turnaround has thrilled conservatives – he has a White House visit with Trump and Jared Kushner reportedly lined up for Thursday – while rendering him unrecognizable to fans that connected with his raps from a decade ago. It wasn’t until Sunday, though, that Swift made the leap toward endorsing candidates – she posted a letter on Instagram supporting Tennessee’s Democratic congressional candidates while condemning racism and discrimination. Like so many other aspects of 2018, how fans feel about Kanye vs. Taylor likely comes down to how they feel about Trump, with the president routinely praising West on Twitter while announcing Monday that he “likes Taylor’s music about 25% less” after her Democratic endorsements. And as the same voices on the right that praise West begin to voice their newfound aversions to Swift, with other commenters claiming that Swift actually "cares more about black people" than West, the two artists are once again diametrically opposed, in a more bizarre way than fans ever could've expected.