Some women that I admire today
include Rachel Notley, (Premier here in Alberta), Hillary Clinton and Oprah
Winfrey. Premier Notley has conducted herself and her party with exemplary
management through very difficult economic times in this province. Two years
before her election the province saw a rapid decline in the job market as the
world turned away from the oilsands and by the time she was elected the
province was already suffering financially with loss of revenue from the
industry. Despite this she decided to spend where funds needed to be spent
rather than “cut, cut, cut”, the mantra of the Conservatives no matter if we
are in the best of times or the worst of times (hence seeing a dramatic failing
of infrastructure over the last 3 decades).
Media coverage of her progress has been negligible and the bias of the
press is so blatant it makes this writer sick. One must do one’s own research
in order to gain the facts of her leadership and the successes she has brought
to the province.
Hillary Rodham Clinton is another
woman who has been maligned to such an extent I marvel at her resilience in
still being active in trying to make a better world. Only a few days ago she
was at Oxford for the unveiling of a statue of Eleanor Roosevelt honouring her
for her part in developing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In her
first book “It Takes a Village” she wrote admiringly of the social quietness of
Denmark which naturally struck a chord with me. Her many efforts towards
getting an affordable health care to Americans has been another reason why I
like this woman. Her grit and determination, her amazing ability to speak knowledgably
on a variety of important issues (I will go to the mattresses on the
Obama-Clinton debates; she won those debates and the journalists were merely
having their ears tickled by Obama) and her sheer stamina and determination to
make a difference make her one of the top 10 admired women of the 21st
century, in my opinion.
The third woman that I admire is
Oprah Winfrey. From the moment she took the national stage as a TV host she has
made a huge impact on women. Her fearlessness in tackling any topic made her
show ground-breaking and her openness about her own personal issues made her
beloved by millions of women. I think she has done a remarkable service in
promoting others into celebrity, such as Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, Rachel Ray and
others. She isn’t selfish in that regard. One of her wonderful initiatives has
been to create a Book Club which in turn has inspired thousands of book clubs
around the world. Being an avid reader she has regularly spotlighted books and interviewed
authors in her O Magazine. For a long time she had a monthly feature where a
celebrity would write about their favorite books and every magazine has the
latest books reviewed. She does tours and inspires women (and men) to “Live
Your Best Life” and I am sure we will hear of legacy stories in the future.
There are few women who impact
the world in a meaningful way but these are three of my favorites.
"I raise up my voice—not so
I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard...we cannot succeed
when half of us are held back." ―Malala Yousafzai
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