Janet Yellen, the first woman to head the American Federal Reserve, will be the first woman to run the country's Treasury department in its 231-year history. Including her time as chief White House economist, this is said to put her in a category of her own. Not only will she be the first woman to hold all three of the top US economic policy jobs, she will be the first person ever to have had all three jobs.

The well-deserved ascension of Yellen to the position of Treasury secretary reminded me of institutions of our own that are found wanting in “firsts” or in the representation of women in key positions. I am reminded that SA has never had a woman at the helm of the Constitutional Court as the tenure of the current chief justice, Mogoeng Mogoeng, comes to an end this year...