Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's succinct "because it's 2015" explanation of his new, half-female cabinet has attracted international attention.
The New York Times, Newsweek, Slate, the NBC Nightly News website and various other U.S. news organizations reported on Trudeau's swearing-in on Wednesday, including his retort to a reporter when asked why having a cabinet with an equal number of men and women was important to him.
Newsweek cited a United Nations study to note that with Trudeau's gender-equal cabinet Canada will now rank No. 4 in the world in terms of percentage of women in ministerial positions, tied with France and Liechtenstein. It was previously in 20th place, according to the UN Women report; Finland is No. 1.
Britain's Telegraph also carried a story on Trudeau's cabinet.
"In a shock 'politician recognizes it's the 21st century' move, he's picked 15 men and 15 women -- the first gender-balanced ministerial team in the country's history," the newspaper reported in an article by Claire Cohen, the deputy women's editor.
