Liberia has elected the first woman president in Africa, and speculation is looming over whether a new gender-blind international climate will reach the United States.

Sixty-seven-year-old, Harvard-educated grandmother, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, was officially declared the first female president of Liberia on Nov. 23 after the results from the Nov. 8 run-off election were confirmed, according to a Reuters article.

She became the first woman president elected in Africa.

On Nov. 22, Angela Merkel was sworn in as the first woman chancellor of Germany. Germany and Liberia will now be among more than 30 countries that have elected a woman as head of state since 1960, including Pakistan, Turkey and Haiti.

This has some wondering when the U.S. will join in the trend in electing a female president.

Chris Fowler, program coordinator for the Carrie Chapman Catt Center, said a similar election in America would hold the same results regardless of gender.

“Judging from recent elections, there is always controversy,” Fowler said. “I’m not sure if gender would have anything to do with it.”

Lt. Governor Sally Pederson said the election was a positive step for the women in Liberia and the United States may elect a woman president soon.

“I think in politics, it depends on the circumstances,” Pederson said. “People need to create an environment where people feel comfortable electing a women to leadership positions. This will become easier as women are more visible in government agencies.”

Pederson said she thought the reason America has yet to elect a women president is because of the historical background and the tradition of male presidents.

“[Women] really haven’t run for the presidency in recent years,” Fowler said. “In the past, political parties have not had many women in leadership positions, but this year may be different.”

Mansbach said he feels America has reached the point where it would be comfortable with a women president.

“I think we’ve reached the point and clearly the next election will tell,” he said. “We have two extremely capable women, Elizabeth Dole and Hillary Clinton, who would make fine candidates.”

Pederson expressed hope for the future.

“It’s not easy to predict when we’ll have a woman president or when all 50 states will have had a women governor or when 50 percent of offices are held by women or minorities, but I think we are slowly moving in that direction,” Pederson said.

The Liberian results were contested by supporters of Sirleaf’s opponent, soccer superstar George Weah, who accused her of stuffing fake ballots into the boxes.

“He has a lot of young supporters because of his popularity in soccer,” said Richard Mansbach, professor in political science. “And many of them fought in the [civil] war.”

Mansbach said Liberia’s most recent civil war, which ended in 2003, may have left many of the men who fought in it skeptical that all politicians are corrupt. This could have left them more supportive of the soccer hero than someone with a background in government. More than half the voters were women, however, which had a significant influence on the outcome, Mansbach said.

“I think it would mean a lot to the women in that country,” he said.