3 numbers for my Slovaks. 5 days left to choose a new culture.

The emotions, aggressions and fears are at the peak - like 25 years ago when Slovakia was choosing Europe against the capture by the then-PM Me?iar. People always say 'this time' it's different, it's the historical election when everything is at stake. Well now it does feel like now's the time, for real.

While Slovakia's attention has been hijacked by pseudo issues like ex-PM fist-fighting with ex-Minister of Interior only to boost street violence and overall confusion even more...

my invitation for the 30th September elections is to express gratitude, admiration and support to the real warriors of our political era.

TLDR; Zakrú?kuj ?enu

The future, if it is to be kind, innovative and sustainable, is in the hands of conscious female politicians. (Here's why it makes sense to give preferential votes to women for reasons other than granting more attention to 'women's issues').

What are the odds of Slovakia's immediate future ending up in feminine hands?

Close to zero.

Unless we also count the male leaders with exceptionally high degree of integration of the full spectrum of their leadership traits (i.e. masculine and feminine which is not the same as embodying male and female body - more on that another time). This is the only blessing Slovakia can hope for these days.

They are the only hope for a decent transition away from the past years of ignorance, violence and arrogance. Transitioning until women feel like politics can be not just a decent but a meaningful career option for them too.

3 numbers if you were wondering how long it's going to take:

33rd place -> move on

The party that is polling as potentially the first in the upcoming elections (and has been around for 24 years) has 20 women on its list (out of 150). The first one is on the 33rd place. Anything else to be said about their sole commitment to protect the world that works for a selected few and nothing else?

Two in three -> show up for her

A staggering 61% of female politicians globally have experienced some form of online abuse, ranging from sexist comments to threats of violence. Judging by my personal experience, I would be surprised if in Slovakia it wasn't 100%. Most of us only see the tip of the iceberg as most of the abuse goes unreported.

So stop watching and stand up for these women who are among the most courageous activists you would want to get to know better. Stand up for them with your funding, reputation support and votes.

Speaking of funding:

000s -> fuel her voice

Pick your number and add at least a zero. Because that is how much she would probably fundraise if she was a man.

As usual in any conversation about gender discrimination, there is almost no data about gender gap in political funding (with some exceptions of US-based data proving that unsurprisingly, male candidates have access to more funding and that the majority of large-donors are male).

What can partially fill the data vacuum is to remember:

• the gender pay gap everywhere you look
• unequal access to funding even if she was a business owner
• unequal caring responsibilities in her family and household
• insufficient access to mental health support to deal with all of the above.

You can either choose the tribe that continues reinforcing the story that politics is not for women. Or you show up for her.

Show up for her with funding, reputation support and votes.        

That's what I would wish for if I was running to be elected as MP on 30th September. Maybe I will get to test my courage one day. For now I know that most of us women have been raised not to ask for support and that you probably never asked what she needed either. Or? Convince me otherwise.

PS: bonus number for non-Slovak readers = 1 out of 25

If you're Slovak, there's no way you do not know this: One party out of 25 running this week has a gender equal list.

Living (and voting) in Slovakia sometimes becomes depressingly easy if equality is what matters to you ... if you feel it's time to start walking the talk of the values we subscribed to in the EU accession process 20 years ago.

#womenempowerment #feminineleadership #womeninpolitics

Volt Slovensko , Volt Europa , Women In Politics , Women Political Leaders (WPL) , National Democratic Institute (NDI) , Ak?ní ?eny , Ak?né ?eny , Zakrou?kuj ?enu , ?eny v médiích