Opinion: Is female leadership the solution to the pandemic?

On June 8th, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the country had completely eradicated COVID-19, citing no active cases for the first time since February. This news brought celebration, as public gatherings such as sporting events, retail shopping, and hospitality have reopened. As some countries succeed and others struggle in standing up to the challenges of the pandemic, patterns in leadership will emerge. For instance, countries with female leaders have largely been successful at fighting the coronavirus. Does this pattern demonstrate the skills that women bring to leadership, or is it more representative of what comprises a successful leadership style when faced with a crisis? 

Because the coronavirus pandemic is ongoing, no peer-reviewed studies have been conducted that determine any patterns in leadership throughout the pandemic. However, so far, women-led countries have been notably successful in acting quickly and controlling the spread of COVID-19. From Ardern to Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin to Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen, female leaders around the world have been applauded for their swift and successful action in tackling the pandemic. On March 21st, when New Zealand only had 52 cases of COVID-19, Ardern announced a four-level alert system (Prepare, Reduce, Restrict, Lockdown) and had already closed the country’s border. And when New Zealand entered the Lockdown phase a few days later, Ardern addressed the country on Facebook Live in a sweatshirt, apologizing for the abrupt emergency alert announcing the lockdown that had been sent to citizen’s phones with a “loud honk.”

From Ardern to Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin to Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen, female leaders around the world have been applauded for their swift and successful action in tackling the pandemic.

Stereotypes associated with female leaders have typically not been viewed as effective leadership strategies, especially in the United States. According to a study by Dr. Kira Sanbonmatsu at the Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics, women’s gender stereotypes (caring, collaborative, community-oriented) are seen as less fitting for political office than male gender stereotypes (power-seeking, strong, combative). Additionally, as explained to The New York Times by Alice Evans, a sociologist at King’s College London, “there is an expectation that leaders should be aggressive and forward and domineering. But if women demonstrate those traits, then they’re seen as unfeminine.” However, during the pandemic, women leaders around the world have succeeded by leading cautiously, but swiftly, and steering away from the combative responses seen used by some male leaders. 

It is possible that the pattern of successful female leadership has more to do with leadership style than gender. Many of the countries with the highest rates of coronavirus mortality, such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and Brazil, have authoritarian, populist leaders who have presented themselves as anti-establishment leaders working for the common folk. These leaders have dismissed the advice of public health professionals surrounding personal protective equipment and banning public gatherings. For example, in the United Kingdom, male Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government initially encouraged residents to continue socializing while later delivering updated lockdown plans that lacked detail and confused citizens. In contrast, Germany’s female Chancellor Angela Merkel has a doctorate in quantum chemistry and worked as a research scientist prior to becoming a politician. Merkel has handled the coronavirus crisis by calling to her strengths as a scientist, presenting residents of Germany with detailed guidelines to halt the spread of COVID-19. Ultimately, the United Kingdom has seen nearly twice the number of cases of COVID-19 per million residents as Germany, and Britain’s lockdown has continued into June while Germany began to reopen shops in May. 

“There is an expectation that leaders should be aggressive and forward and domineering. But if women demonstrate those traits, then they’re seen as unfeminine.”

The pattern of successful female leaders does have outliers. While Belgium has seen one of the world’s highest mortality rates from COVID-19, female Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes has downplayed the severity of the virus, suggesting that health officials may be over-reporting deaths. Health officials have stated that poor preparation along with a high elderly-home population has led to the devastating death toll. And, in South Korea, male President Moon Jae-in has been praised for his quick response in providing personal protective equipment to medical staff, covering all COVID-19 medical expenses, and implementing extensive contact tracing, identifying those who may have come in contact with someone with COVID-19. South Korea has limited the death toll from COVID-19 to 5 deaths per million residents, which is significantly lower than the worldwide death toll of 57.2 deaths per million people. 

As the pandemic continues, with economies battered, healthcare infrastructure vulnerable, and citizens nervous for the future, the leaders who have succeeded in quelling the damage will emerge. The nations that have been the most successful at tackling the virus thus far have been the leaders that have acted quickly, avoided confusion with clear and consistent responses, and remained sympathetic and understanding to the anxieties of the pandemic. Considering many of the successful leaders so far have been women, the pandemic may affect global perception of the strength of female leadership. Furthermore, the impacts of the world leaders who have succeeded in slowing or stopping the pandemic in their nations could alter the perception of what qualities comprise a good leader.

Image source: Pixabay.