By Diane Vacca

The key players who brought about the sharp shift in policy were women. For a veteran of the feminist battles of the 1960s and ’70s, that disclosure was stunning.

Iceland was, apparently, just the tip of the iceberg. As the roiling world economy makes voters less patient with corruption and complacency, voters are increasingly turning to super-competent and capable women— even when they’ve never done so before. In Kuwait, women have had the right to vote and to hold office for only three years; ever since, clerics have warned…