當記者問到“為什么支持政府高層席位實現(xiàn)男女性別平衡”時，加拿大新任首相賈斯汀·特魯多給出了一個簡單的答案：“因為已經(jīng)是2015年了?！北M管這個完美的回答可能震撼到很多人，但在現(xiàn)實中，大多數(shù)國家領導層的男女比例距離五五對開還差很遠。

20年前，189個國家簽署了《北京宣言與行動綱領》，旨在敦促各國政府為領導層的性別平等而奮斗。然而，時至2015年1月1日，只有5個國家達成了這一目標。女性部長比例最高的是芬蘭，該國有62.5%的部長級官員是女性，大西洋島國佛得角名列第二，隨后是瑞典。在法國和列支敦士登的內(nèi)閣成員中，男女各占一半。

而國際議會聯(lián)盟日前發(fā)布的一份年度報告顯示，加拿大成為女性占據(jù)至少一半部長級職位的少數(shù)幾個國家之一，在男女比例上與法國和列支敦士登并駕齊驅(qū)。

對此，美國婦女政策研究所創(chuàng)始人兼總裁海蒂·哈特曼評價說：“（特魯多）顯然走在了時代之前，不過他說得完全正確，都到了2015年，這才是內(nèi)閣成員應該達到的男女比例?！?/p>

相比之下，奧巴馬的內(nèi)閣中僅有35%的女性，男女人數(shù)并不相當。不過，與美國政府的其他部門相比，這一比例已然算是突出的了——美國參議院只有20%是女性，州議會有24%是女性，眾議院有19.3%是女性，州長中只有10%是女性。據(jù)美國婦女政策研究所的《美國女性地位年度報告》估計，按照目前的趨勢，美國國會只有到2117年才能實現(xiàn)男女席位相等。

在其他發(fā)達國家中，女性的政治存在感甚至更加薄弱。例如，根據(jù)國際議會聯(lián)盟的數(shù)據(jù)，英國首相大衛(wèi)·卡梅隆的內(nèi)閣只有29%的女性，英國國會議員僅有31.8%是女性。北歐國家的部長級職位中，女性的比例最高，平均達到了41.5%，美洲地區(qū)是26.5%，除北歐外的歐洲其他地區(qū)是23.6%。而其他大洲的部長級官員中，女性的比例都低于22.5%。

有鑒于此，我們必須向加拿大起立致敬。不過，還是要指出，在加拿大的最近一次選舉中，只有31%的候選人是女性，最終有50人成功獲選，而特魯多的自由黨在結(jié)束選舉時，只有27%的黨團會議成員是女性。當然，相較于即將下臺的保守黨政府，這已經(jīng)是個巨大的進步，后者的黨團會議只有20%的女性成員。據(jù)政治學者預測，加拿大國會還需要100年的時間才能達到男女議員數(shù)量平等。

但無論如何，特魯多組建的內(nèi)閣能實現(xiàn)男女數(shù)量相當，這都是一個巨大的進步。

“這超越了人們對女性政治角色的傳統(tǒng)認知，是一項大膽的舉動。”聯(lián)合國婦女署政治參與政策顧問朱莉·巴靈頓評價，“在加拿大這樣一個實行英聯(lián)邦選舉制度的國家中，這真是太具有革命性了。歷史早已證明，那些出現(xiàn)更大變革的國家，都是那些采用了不同選舉模式的國家。”（財富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：嚴匡正

審校：任文科

Canada does it again. Whether it’s immigration, healthcare or gay marriage, the country has long been a testing ground for progressive policies. Last week, the North American nation added to that legacy, becoming the sixth country in the world to achieve a gender balance in its ministerial positions.

When reporters asked the country’s newly elected Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, why he supported gender parity amongst his government’s top ranks, the Liberal Party leader had a very simple answer: “Because it’s 2015.”

And while that may strike many as the perfect response, in reality, the leadership of most nations remains a long way from 50/50.

Twenty years after 189 countries signed the Beijing Platform for Action, which urged governments to strive for gender balance in its leadership positions, Canada now joins a small collection of countries where women occupy at least 50% of ministerial positions, according to an annual report by the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

As of Jan. 1, 2015, just five countries made the cut. Leading the pack is Finland, which boasts 62.5% female ministers, followed by the Atlantic archipelago of Cape Verde, Sweden, and a tie between France and Lichtenstein. Now, Canada joins the list, coming in neck-and-neck with France and Lichtenstein.

“[Trudeau] is definitely ahead of his time, even though he’s absolutely right, that in 2015, this is what every cabinet should look like.” said Heidi Hartmann, founder and president of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

Obama’s cabinet is 35% women, which isn’t exactly parity, but looks pretty good compared to other areas in U.S. government. Just 20% of the U.S. Senate, 24% of state legislatures, 19.3% of the U.S. House and 10% of U.S. governors are female. At the current pace, Congress won’t reach gender parity until the year 2117, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research’s annual Status of Women in the States report.

The representation of women in politics is even bleaker in other industrialized countries. David Cameron’s cabinet, for example, is only 29% female, as is 31.8% of the U.K. parliament. The Nordic countries have the highest share of women in ministerial positions, with an average of 41.5%, followed by the Americas with 26.5% and non-Nordic Europe with 23.6%. Every other continent averages below 22.5%, according to the to the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

Before giving Canada a standing ovation, it’s important to note that women accounted for just 31% of local candidates in the country’s recent election. Fifty of those women were elected and Trudeau’s Liberal party finished the election with a caucus that was 27% female. It’s an improvement on the outgoing Conservative government’s 20%, but political scientists similarly predict that it will take another 100 years before the Canadian Parliament verges on gender parity.

Still, see Trudeau’s balanced cabinet as an important step forward.

“This is so revolutionary in a country like Canada that has this Commonwealth electoral system, this old school system,” said Julie Ballington, a policy advisor on political participation at U.N. Women. “The countries that have made more progressive changes are based on a different electoral model.”

Trudeau’s decision to treat women as equal partners in the government “bypasses the traditional perceptions around the role of women in politics,” says Ballington. “It’s a bold move.”