Helen Clark, A role model for women


Helen Clark is a brave and hardworking woman born into a middle class family and it would not be wrong to say that she is a role model for women empowerment for all women in the world today. I would like to share about her childhood and success stories with you.

   Helen Clark, the oldest of four children of George and Margaret Clark, grew up on a sheep and cattle farm in Te Pahu, west of Hamilton. Her mother, was a primary school teacher. Her father, was a farmer. Clark studied at Te Pahu Primary School, at Epsom Girls' Grammar School in Auckland and at the University of Auckland, where she majored in politics and graduated with an MA (Honours) in 1974. Her thesis focused on rural political behaviour and representation. As a teenager Clark became politically active, she campaigned against the Vietnam War (New Zealand was an ally of the US during the war), against apartheid in South Africa and against US military bases on New Zealand soil.

1. She was the first elected Prime Minister of New Zealand
In 1999, Helen Clark was elected Prime Minister of New Zealand and served for three consective terms, nine years, and 27.5 years as a Member of the Parliament of New Zealand. Forbes magazine ranked her the 22nd most powerful woman in the world in 2016,  down from 20th in 2006

      2. Foreign policy in her era
She advocated a number of free-trade agreements with major trading partners, including becoming the first developed nation to sign such an agreement with China, and ordered a military deployment to the 2006 East Timorese crisis alongside international partners
   In a report in the People's Daily, Chinese President Jiang Zemin referred to Clark as an "old friend." He hoped to "establish bilateral long-term and stable overall cooperative relations with a healthy development geared to the 21st century," and "broad prospects for bilateral economic cooperation." Clark had strongly supported China's entry into the WTO.

      3. As an activist for nuclear disarmament
In 2002, she was presented with the Nuclear-Free Future Award, for "installing New Zealand at the forefront of the world political movement to rid the earth of nuclear weapons".
    Clark maintained New Zealand's "nuclear free" policy, introduced when she chaired the foreign affairs and defense select committee. She refused to take part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq without an explicit United Nations mandate. A strong supporter of nuclear disarmament, she has pursued a policy of peace-making within the Pacific Ocean region. While New Zealand takes part in UN peace-keeping missions across the globe, she regards the Pacific as New Zealand's natural zone for international involvement.

       4. Socio-sconomic policies for New Zealand
At home, her administration raised the minimum wage, introduced child tax credits and reduced the crime rate. Clark's government has brought in significant changes to the New Zealand welfare system, such as introducing child tax credits in the Working for Families package. Her government has also changed industrial-relations law and raised the minimum wage six times in as many years. Changes have also occurred in tertiary-education financing, with the abolition of interest on student-loans—firstly for those currently studying, then extended to all borrowers living in New Zealand. Other changes introduced during Clark's term in office include legal provision for civil unions, the introduction of 14 weeks' paid parental leave, and the Property (Relationships) Act, which treats property division after the breakup of de facto relationships the same as after the breakup of legal marriages.
Some commentators have praised Helen Clark (along with the Minister of Finance Michael Cullen) for overseeing a period of sustained and stable economic growth, with an increase in employment that has seen a gradual lowering of the unemployment rate to 3.6 percent.

      5. She was the first and only female Administrator of the UNDP.
During the UNDP’s over-half-a-century history, Helen Clark was the first woman to become the Administrator of UNDP in April 2009. Throughout her eight years at the UNDP, Clark committed herself to making it a highly transparent and accountable organisation. She focused her advocacy on the needs of the marginalised around the world, promoting the rights of women, LGBTI, refugees and migrants, and people with HIV and AIDS. She worked in areas such as environmental protection, climate action, disaster risk reduction, and democratic governance. She has been a strong advocate for implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. During her tenure, the ratio of women to men at UNDP reached 50 per cent, including at the most senior level of the organisation

      6. Jacinda Ardern current prime minster was on her staff.
After graduating from university, Jacinda Ardern, the current Prime Minister of New Zealand, worked as a researcher in Clark’s office. What does Helen say about Jacinda now? “Jacinda Ardern shows that no doors are closed to women.”

    Her interest in social issues could perhaps be seen as an expression of feminine qualities, although there are no few men who have a passion for social justice. What can be said is that her commitment to international peace, ecological sustainability and social welfare demonstrate the desire to improve the quality of life for all people, not just some. She has proved that a woman can run a country as efficiently as a man.



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