Women Leaders in India: first female parliament speaker

India already has a woman President, and now the first woman speaker.

NEW DELHI, June 3 (UPI) -- A member of a lower caste in the now outlawed caste system, Meira Kumar, Wednesday was unanimously elected the first woman speaker of India's parliament.

The 64-year-old lawmaker from the Congress party, whose coalition government was returned to power after last month's elections, will hold the country's top Constitutional post, the Press Trust of India reported. She was elected unopposed.

A resolution in parliament naming her speaker, which was moved by Sonia Gandhi, president of the Congress-led coalition, was approved by a voice vote in the lower house of parliament. Leaders of all major opposition parties also had similar motions proposing her name for the post.

Kumar, a member of the Dalit community, is a former Indian Foreign Service officer and also had been a federal minister.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who belongs to the minority Sikh community, said Kumar's selection is a historic moment for the country, and praised her service as a distinguished diplomat and 25 years in parliament, PTI reported.

Kumar said she would make every effort to ensure the dignity of the lower house and its members.

She is the daughter of the late Jagjivan Ram, a former deputy prime minister of India.

India already has a woman President.

Ins and Outs of Internships: Study of 125 Companies Who Hire Interns

Considering an internship? You'll want to read the this recent study of 125 companies internship practices and pay rates in this 42 page PowerPoint report of the 2009 study.

Created by the Employers Resource Council and Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education, it was designed to provide Northeast Ohio employers with important information regarding internship employment practices to help them better attract, retain and develop new talent that will stimulate their long-term growth and success. I think that it also can help interns better understand what a company is looking for and how the process works.

It includes answers to questions like:

• What are the primary reasons the organizations use interns?
• What is the benefit to the organization?
• How much do organizations pay?
• What are the non-pay benefits that interns get?
• How do companies find the interns?

Check out the 2009 ERC / NOCHE Internship Pay Rates & Practices Survey.