At a Starbucks on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Union Avenue, just around the corner from MacArthur Park, barely anyone had voted in Tuesday’s election. If South Korea native Helena did vote, she would have voted for Wendy Greuel because of her education policy and the need for women’s voices in politics.

If Greuel were to win, Los Angeles could elect its first female mayor, similar to South Korea’s recent historic election of Park Geun-hye. She became South Korea’s first female president on Feb. 26. 

“It’s the first time that South Korea, a very conservative country, elected a woman president,” Helena said. “I think it would be great if a female was chosen as the mayor for Los Angeles.”

Helena declined to offer her last name. She lives in Pasadena, but currently works in Los Angeles. She attended UCLA as an undergraduate and has lived in the area for 16 years.

Wendy Greuel (Creative Commons

Park Geun-hye (Creative Commons)

Part of the reason Helena hoped to see a female in office is the comparison to other political systems that she believes function very well. 

Helena admired aspects of the Swedish system of childcare and education, which boasts of one of the highest levels of gender equality in the world according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report. The country’s policies on parental care and early childcare that promote gender equality as well as the number of women in political office make it the No. 4 country in the world for gender equality. The United States is ranked No. 17. 

Helena thinks Sweden’s system offers some lessons for the city of Los Angeles. 

“I think we need to spend more energy, time, and money in this city on women and children,” she said. 

Currently, Jan Perry is the only female member of the 15 members of Los Angeles City Council.  There might not be any female members come July.

Reach Staff Reporter Anna Catherine Brigida here.