The widow of slain US civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. told an audience of more than a hundred last night to support women in their quest for Government positions.

Coretta Scott King, the founder of the Martin Luther King Jr., Centre for Nonviolent Social Change, appeared as a guest of Akinstall International during its symposium on women's issues at the Southampton Princess.

She recently received the Sara Lee 1996 Frontrunner Award for her work in humanities.

Give women more power, Scott King urges From Page 1 Mrs. Scott King said while the Island was beautiful and the people were friendly, she "had the added comfort of knowing that here in Bermuda, women are in charge''.

"With women leading both the Government and the Opposition, I don't see how you can go wrong.'' Earlier Premier Pamela Gordon and Progressive Labour Party leader Jennifer Smith had welcomed Mrs. Scott King to the Island and the symposium.

Mrs. Scott King said it was gratifying to see women in high-ranking Government office and noted that women in such positions normally distinguished themselves as strong decisive leaders.

She said she was looking forward to seeing a female President of the United States, not just because of pride in her gender, but because of the "unmistakable message it would send to young women everywhere that no goal is too high''.

"One of my personal goals is to live to that glorious day,'' she added.

But women had a long way to go to reach parity as elected officials, she continued.

There were few women in politics around the globe despite the proportion of women in the population, said Mrs. Scott King.

"I believe this lack of gender balance explains why children and family are being shortchanged by government policies.

"We need women in positions where they can correct this. Regardless of our political beliefs, let us aggressively support women searching for empowerment in Government.

"The world will never be in balance until women have a fair share of the decision-making responsibilities.'' Women had female skills and these were strengths and assets, not weaknesses and liabilities, said Mrs. Scott King.

For example, these skills gave them a greater awareness of social and environmental policies, she noted.

"If women as a whole have special strengths to bring to Government then they should not be shy of using them.'' But she pointed out that there were exceptions to this rule for both women and men.