But in the meantime, I think that exceptions to the rule, such as Ms Hollis, should be highlighted as role models to other women who are thinking of pursuing careers in what are still generally seen as masculine fields.

While I completely agree with this statement I think to a certain extent this post is a bit of a contradiction. The argument is that we need to get over the novelty value of having women in high positions of politics and policy, but instead of actually doing so you analyse her entirely through the prism of her gender.

I’m not by any means saying that by placing attention on women’s issues we perpetuate them, but that it is more the job of women’s advocacy groups like Emily’s List than it is of, say, an expert on the Middle-East who just happens to be a woman.