Parity-the state or condition of being the same in power, value, rank, equality.     Women in Government Worldwide, 18 percent of national legislative seats are held by women, according to the Geneva-based Inter Parliamentary Union. It ranks the United States 69th in the world for female representation in government. Twenty-two nations have at least 30 percent women in their lower houses in national assemblies. Rwanda leads the world with 56 percent of seats in the lower house and 35 percent in the upper house following an election in September. Sweden is next, with women holding 47 percent of seats in its single-chamber parliament. Cuba is third with 43 percent. Regional averages show that Scandinavian nations have outpaced much of the rest of the world in female representation: Rwanda 56% Scandinavia 41% Americas 22% Europe (excluding Scandinavian nations) 19% Asia 18% Sub-Saharan Africa 18% United States 16.9% Pacific 15% Arab nations 9% Information from women'sEnews The complete listing of the first 134 standings on countries for Women in National Parliaments as of September 20, 2008 can be found at IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union).   Female Majority to Control N.H. Senate Run Date: 11/21/08 By Jane Costello WeNews correspondent LEBANON, N.H. (WOMENSENEWS)--New Hampshire's state Senate will carve history for the Granite State in January when the legislative body convenes with women in 13 of the 24 seats forming the country's first female majority. Women will also factor in key positions of leadership: the Senate is presided over by its president, Sylvia Larson, and president pro-tem, Maggie Hassan, while Martha Fuller Clark continues her role as majority whip. "We are setting a great example for young women: that they can get involved and run for office," says Sharon Carson, a newly elected Republican senator who formerly served as state representative from Londonderry and works as an adjunct professor at Nashua Community College. Read more about the N.H. Senate posted 22 November 2008     The Great Matriarchy of North Carolina by Free Spirit Thu Nov 06, 2008 at 08:29:13 PM PST In the excitement over this historic presidential race, a potentially historic aspect of this election for women in North Carolina was mostly overlooked. There were a total of 14 women running statewide races in North Carolina this year: Elizabeth Dole (R) vs. Kay Hagan (D) for the US Senate Bev Perdue (D) for Governor Janet Cowell (D) for State Treasurer Beth Wood (D) for State Auditor June Atkinson (D) for Superintendent of Public Instruction Cherie Berry (R) vs. Mary Fant Donnan (D) for Labor Commissioner Elaine Marshall (D) for Secretary of State Suzanne Reynolds (D*) for State Supreme Court Cheri Beasley (D*), Jewel Ann Farlow (R*), Kristin Ruth (D*), and Linda Stephens (D*) for State Court of Appeals *Indicates party endorsement in a nonpartisan race. Read who the winners are posted 10 November 2008 House Races Push Women's Numbers to New High Thursday 06 November 2008 by: Alison Bowen, Women's eNews Election night nudged up the female composition of the next US House of Representatives by three lawmakers, to a record 74. But the political gender gap remains wide, with women's share of the House staying at 16 percent. The number of women in the U.S. House of Representatives will reach a high of 74 when the victors of Tuesday's elections take office in January. While marking a gain of three legislators, the results failed to push women's stake into the 20 percent territory considered minimal for exerting significant voting-bloc pressure. "I think it shows us that victories are incremental," said Claire Giesen, executive director of the Washington-based National Women's Political Caucus. "Most of the time it's two steps forward and one back. We just have to keep at it." Read more about the gain in women representatives posted 8 November 2008 Female voters heavily favor Obama, helping propel historic victory By JoNel Aleccia Health writer, msnbc.com updated 12:15 a.m. ET, Wed., Nov. 5, 2008 ...Women voters outnumbered men nationally by about 53-47 percent, according to exit polls. Women make up not only more of the general population, but also more of adult voters, historic census figures show. 'Women decided this election' "He just captured me," said Letitia Hughes, 42, an African-American mother of three from Fishers, Ind., a battleground state. While some 95 percent of African-American men and 96 percent of women voted for Obama, according to exit polls, white voters generally favored McCain. But 46 percent of white women voted for Obama, according to exit polls, compared with only 41 percent of white men. "If men split evenly between Obama and McCain, then women decided this election," said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.. Read more about the role of Female Voters in the election posted 7 November 2008   Campaigns signal bright future for women By Rick Maese November 5, 2008 Baltimore Sun Voting for the first time, 19-year-old Erika Bowman was beaming as she walked out of the voting booth at Glen Burnie Park Elementary. Her presidential pick was Sen. Barack Obama, but the months-long election cycle instilled in her a larger sense of promise. Women candidates played big roles in the presidential race this year, as Sen. Hillary Clinton narrowly missed out on the Democratic Party's nomination and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin became the first female to appear on the Republican ticket. "It does inspire me," said Bowman, a student at Anne Arundel Community College. "I'm very interested in politics, and I hope that maybe one day ... who knows?" Read more about the young women's hopes in politics posted 7 November 2008 Will She Ever Get There? By Anne E. Kornblut Sunday, November 2, 2008 Washington Post As the presidential campaign draws to a close, it's commonplace to hear 2008 heralded as an excellent year for women. But has it been? First Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton ran the most serious presidential campaign of any woman in U.S. history. Then Gov. Sarah Palin, the first woman on a Republican ticket, sparked an initial rush of excitement. Never before have women played such a prominent role in national politics, the reasoning goes, and that has laid the groundwork for even greater advancement the next time a woman runs. But both women's campaigns devolved into such strife, their candidacies provoking such frenzied passions and mocking caricatures along the way, that it's only fair to ask whether the first woman's path to the White House was eased this year -- or whether Clinton and Palin simply unearthed the land mines without defusing any of them. If Democrat Barack Obama wins on Tuesday, he will have broken a huge barrier. But another one still awaits. On Tuesday, Palin will emerge, win or lose, as the figure most transformed by her brief time in the public eye. After bursting onto the national scene as a moose-hunting mother of five who could rescue John McCain's campaign, the Alaska governor wound up sinking in the polls and getting entangled in a classic "girl story" about her now famous Republican National Committee-financed shopping spree. Her campaign handlers promptly threw her overboard and anonymously declared her a "whack job" and a "diva" -- hardly a moment of profound advancement. In the end, Palin seems to represent less "an explosion of a brand-new style of muscular American feminism" (in the words of the contrarian feminist Camille Paglia) than the stereotypical former-beauty-queen-made-good who seeks affirmation about her abilities while people just titter about her clothes. Read more about the question if 2008 was an excellent year for the woman posted 3 November 2008