World Wide Women

It's no secret that women are disproportionately represented in politics internationally. The issue hasn't had a shortage of attention recently. There was the European minister who quit her post because she felt she was 'window dressing', increasing attention based around the issue of pregnant MPs, and the Sarah Palin saga. Similarly, women in combat are rarely recognised for their work, everything from reaching out to Afghan women in the war there to the World War II pilots who were only recently honoured for their services.

Which is why I'm rather impressed by Ivanka Trump's latest role. O.k. so I never thought I'd truly respect a Trump either but hear me out on this. Ivanka will front a new UN initiative called Girl Up which will try to encourage young girls worldwide to dream big and attempt change in their lifetimes.

As an advocate and participant in the Model United Nations (we won commended delegation as Belgium last weekend at BISMUN - woo!) I really believe that the United Nations as a whole is truly inspirational and an effective international force. I sit on the disarmament committee, because warfare and foreign relations are my personal passion, although my nearly entirely female team contained people with so many different interests; from religious and Internet freedom, to the end of torture and issues in the Middle-East. First off there was not a moment of boredom for any of us, even those not normally interested in politics, and I truly think that the perception that politics and international relations are 'boring' should be eliminated before girls will be drawn to politics.

However, neither do I think the advances of the last few years should be ignored. Sarah Palin and Hilary Clinton both represented were both predominant figures in the 2008 American Presidential election. UN goodwill ambassadors include Angelina Jolie, Selena Gomez (who's just 17 years old!) and Shakira (who has been repeatedly honoured for her charity and political work). Finally, Baroness Ashton is the first vice president of the European commission and as a result a pretty powerful role model.

Politics is fashionable, cool and above all involves having a true impact on the world, and as a result is tailor made for girls!