Viorica Dancila has been named as Romania's first female PM following the sudden resignation of Mihai Tudose. Ms Dancila, a member of the European Parliament, is regarded as an ally of the governing Social Democratic Party (PSD) leader Liviu Dragnea.

There are too many prerequisites for anyone to actually be “qualified” to manage a campaign, unless they’ve done it before (polling, opposition research, field, mail, messaging, data, digital, fundraising, petitioning to get on the ballot…it’s a lot!). But if you can learn fast and adapt, you’re probably qualified. If you’ve volunteered or worked for a campaign before and paid attention to how all the pieces fit together, you’re qualified. If you’ve organized events, raised money for charity, managed staff or volunteers, you’ve got skills that will translate. Think about it: If you asked a room of people who thought they were “qualified” for a job that it was impossible to have all of the qualifications for, who do you think would raise their hands right away? We have to create pathways for women and people of color, who frequently start on campaigns as volunteers or field organizers, to move up and become leaders.

“There have been a lot of stories about the blue wave,” said Jenifer Sarver, who’s vying to become Texas's first newly elected female Congresswoman in over two decades. “There is a feeling among conservative women that women on the left are getting a lot of attention, and we often feel left out. I think there’s something happening on the other side of the aisle as well that I think is exciting for different reasons.”

The issue is compounded for women. Voter ID laws alone account for an estimated 34 percent of women who could be turned away from the polls for not having the right documents, according to the National Organization of Women. Because 90 percent of women change their names when they get married, they often have different names on their identification documents. Among the people already impacted by these laws are a handful of women who face an even harder struggle. Their time, money and safety are taken for granted — all because of their gender.

Labor MP Anne Aly, who was a professor at Edith Cowan University before her election to Parliament in 2016, thought different standards are applied to women in leadership positions. She noted that while ambition is seen as a positive attribute for men, for women it is a negative. Aly said characteristics that might be traditionally seen as more "female" – like empathy, negotiation and communication skills and bringing people together – tend to be overlooked when thinking about leadership.

While Engelhardt’s hearing was the first time Hirono has probed into a court nominee’s history of sexual misconduct, according to her Twitter, she will be asking all nominees similar questions under oath. “Like in other industries, our judges are in positions of power,” she added.

“It’s one thing to acknowledge the centrality of African-American women as the wheels of our political moment,” legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, who moderated the event, told the audience to approving nods. “It’s another to put them in the driver’s seat.”

“Our commonwealth’s diversity is our strength, why is why I made a commitment to building a cabinet that reflects it,” Northam said in a statement. “I’m honored to have this formidable group of experienced, accomplished female leaders joining me in working to build a Virginia that works for everyone, no matter who you are, no matter where you live.”

European anti-fascism movements have historically gotten a spotlight, but women from Latin America also have a strong history of resistance in the face of injustice and inequality, fighting back by joining resistance groups, writing, and spying, among other efforts. Numerous women have been punished for speaking out or for joining opposition groups that sought to depose authoritarians and install democracy, while others have been silenced, becoming part of the many oppressed voices of dissent. Women from Latin America have much to teach us about how to resist oppression and fascism.

“I consider young women fixer-uppers — they come in when the country is in desperate need for common sense, for spunkiness, for strength, for nurturing and for knowing how to bring peace in the middle of discord," she added.

Brigitte Macron’s insistence on breaching protocol to stand beside, rather than behind, her husband at official state ceremonies has sparked a backlash on social media and unflattering comparisons to Marie Antoinette. “A woman does not have to be behind,” the French president’s wife told French RTL radio on Tuesday. Brigitte is exploring ways to take on a larger role at the Elysée palace and will focus on a portfolio of four to five issues, including social exclusion and the rights of handicapped people, the outlet reported.

Ten years ago, we were at 16 [women in the Senate] and even 20 years ago we had fewer than 10 women serving in the Senate,” she said. “We would like to be a lot closer to parity, but it is a pretty rapid number of women entering the Senate in the last couple of decades.” Smith will join Amy Klobuchar in the Senate, making Minnesota the fourth state to be represented by two female senators. Three other states — California, Washington and New Hampshire — in the current Senate have two female Senators, but this is a first for Minnesota.