Headline, May13, 2014

''' BRAZILIAN WOMEN'S GLORIOUS

 SACRIFICES - O''SIRES! '''

WHAT accounts for this remarkable transformation?

Brazil has long,  in theory,  had open competition for places at elite universities and in government.

But only fairly recently have women been able to take advantage of this,  -thanks to the improved schooling and a fall in the fertility rate to just  1.8   children per woman.

''''Girls now outperform boys in school and make up  60%  of the university graduates''''.

Some of the current generation of bosses have succeeded against extraordinary odds:

'''' !!!  Ms Foster was born in a  favela  and started work as a  ''rag-picker''   at the age of eight  but eventually  earned  engineering degrees and an MBA. Now the odds are getting shorter and the numbers are likely to rise dramatically.

A second answer is  progressive social policies.

Brazil has had a  vocal feminist movement for decades and a women's ministry since 2003. Ms Rousseff has fought hard to promote women in her government. Some global companies have led the charge:

To make their Brazilian workplaces more  female-friendly: Walmart's local operation, in which females fill  35%  of management positions, has a women's work council, for example.

There is more to the feminisation of Brazil than this, however. Powerful politicians have used the ancient art of patronage to promote a lucky few woman.

Ms Rousseff acted as Ms Foster's patron, employing her when Ms Rousseff was minister for mines and energy in  2003-05  and later, as president,  putting her in charge of petrobras.

Ms Rousseff was herself a protegee of her predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Eight of the country's nine female billionaires inherited their wealth from their fathers or husbands, two of the nine are the daughters of Brazil's biggest toll-road magnate.

Still, it would be naive to expect any country to march in a straight line towards modernity,  least of all Brazil. That Brazil is producing women like Ms Bastos Marques  -or Ms Rousseff or Ms Foster-  

-Offers a splendid proof that a country which less than 30 years ago was still run by hidebound generals is making dramatic progress.

It does offer just so much hope:

Back at the hosts, the fearless journalist, Kamila Hyat, grimaces with pain, and says, '' The whole thing is a bit like the typical Halloween prank where a figure appears with a stump for a neck and a grinning head:

Held in the crook of the elbow. We quite literally have lost our head and the ability to use the brain that lies within to judge matters'' :

Right On, Lady!  Right On: Well said!!!

With respectful dedication to the Students, Professors and Teachers of the world. See Ya all on !WOW!  -the World Students Society Computers-Internet-Wireless:

'''Necessary Change'''

Good Night & God Bless!

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless