Compassionate Leadership: Jacinda Ardern

“Jacinda Ardern will be remembered for guiding her country with strength, compassion, and grace through multiple historic crises, doubtless saving countless lives. She's shown the world a new model of powerful leadership. A true stateswoman."- Hillary Clinton. Global female political representation is decreasing. The international community was stunned recently by the announcement by Miss Jacinda Ardern that she was stepping aside as Prime Minister of New Zealand. Her announcement was shocking not only for her country men and women but also has implications for global female political participation and representation. Jacinda Ardern is also the Member of Parliament for Mount Albert and the Minister of National Security and Intelligence and Child Poverty Reduction. Ms Ardern became the youngest female head of government in the world when she was elected prime minister in 2017, aged 37. Miss Ardern has been a champion for women’s and children rights since she first became prime minister more than five years ago. Miss Ardern has been credited for her strong and empathetic leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Christchurch mosque shootings in which 51 deaths were recorded, and the White Island volcanic eruption. Miss Ardern has been able to navigate the hypermasculine and often toxic world of politics graciously. Ms. Ardern gained further attention for taking along her baby daughter to a United Nations for her debut speech in 2018 and for wearing a hijab in solidarity after a massacre targeting Muslims. Miss Ardern led the Labour Party to a landslide election victory in 2020, profiting from her government's strong early response to the pandemic. It must be noted that New Zealand has had a trio of trailblazers in women serving as prime ministers. Jenny Shipley (1997–99), who led the National Party from 1997 to 2001; Helen Clark, the first elected woman prime minister (1999–2008) and the current Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who was first elected Prime Minister in October 2017. According to the United Nations (UN), only 22 of 193 countries have a woman as head of state of government; this equates to only 26 per cent of all national parliamentarians are women, up from 11 per cent in 1995. The UN adds as of 19 September 2022, there are 28 countries where 30 women serve as Heads of State. The Women’s Power Index ranks 193 UN member states on their progress toward gender parity in political participation. It analyzes the proportion of women who serve as heads of state or government, in cabinets, in national legislatures, as candidates for national legislatures, and in local government bodies, and visualizes the gender gap in political representation. Women and girls make up half of the world’s population. However far too often, their voices, experiences, and contributions are overlooked or undervalued. In Afghanistan, the Taliban have all but removed the voices of women from the public spheres by barring women from attending educational institutions and working outside the home. In Iran, another Islamic country, the views and opinions of women are not encouraged and women are legislated to play a secondary role to men in the rigid patriarchal society. Inequality and the second-class status of women and girls in numerous societies have vast political, economic, and social implications. This can limit the ability of communities to resolve conflict, countries to boost their economies, or regions to grow enough food. The untapped potential of women remains a lost opportunity for economic growth and development the world can ill afford. Regrettably, the world has stood by as gains in rights of men and girls have been eroded and continue to be eroded. Women are underrepresented in the halls of political and economic power and overrepresented in poverty. At the same time as barriers from gender-based violence and lack of political and economic opportunities, to laws that hold women to a different standard hinder the path to progress. A Culture of Misogynistic Abuse In January 2020, a man sent two threatening emails to then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. It was the culmination of a number of menacing emails sent to government officials over a 4 month period. The current parliament is the most diverse in New Zealand’s history. There are over 50 female Members of Parliament, accounting for close to 48 per cent of elected members. One is left to ask the question how then can such a society be viewed as having a misogynistic culture given the relatively high percentage of women elected to serve. According to Kate Hannah of The Disinformation Project there has been an exponential growth of misogynistic abuse from rape and death threats to derogatory comments about appearances and female qualifications. “Misogyny is not just about hatred of women, it is about the control and punishment of women who are challenging male dominance.” Miss Ardern’ successor, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, has vowed to protect his family from what he called the "abhorrent" abuse that his predecessor, Jacinda Ardern, received while in office. Data released in June showed that threats against Ms Ardern had almost tripled over three years, and local media reported that at least eight threats against her had entered the legal system - including the man who filmed the threatening YouTube video. The type of abuses that Miss Jacinda Ardern endured was more than troubling and speaks to the need for society to engage and interrogate misogyny and the toxic brand of masculinity. Why Women’s Representation Matters? The Council on Foreign Relations Women and Foreign Policy programme states that women’s leadership promotes bipartisanship, equality and stability. Interestingly, when women make up a critical mass of legislatures around 25 to 30 percent, they are more likely to challenge established conventions and policy agendas. Common Ground Women are more likely to cross party lines to find common ground. A study of the U.S. Senate found that women senators more frequently worked across the aisle and passed more legislation than their male counterparts. In recent years, for example, female U.S. senators from both parties joined together to negotiate an accord to end a government shutdown. In Northern Ireland, Catholic and Protestant women’s groups joined forces to establish a powerful political party that made progress across religious divides during the Northern Ireland peace efforts in the late 1990s. Equality and Social Welfare Female lawmakers are more likely to advocate for policies that support education and health. Parliaments with a higher share of women lawmakers are also more likely to pass and implement legislation that advances gender equality, including laws on domestic violence, rape, and sexual harassment. An increase in the share of women legislators is also positively correlated with investment in education and health: among the mostly high-income countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), growth in the number of female legislators led to an increase in educational expenditures. Similarly, in non-OECD India, women-led legislatures were more likely to support investments in clean drinking water. Most countries have been having a difficult time meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #5 which addresses gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. According to the United Nations the world is not on track to achieve gender equality by 2030 and has been pushed further off track by the socioeconomic fallout of the pandemic. The UN adds that at the current pace it would take another 40 years for women and men to be represented equally in national political leadership. In Jamaica, the numbers regarding female political representation is encouraging. As of August 2020, there are 18 female Members of Parliament out of 63 in the Lower House of Parliament, accounting for 28.5%. In the Upper House of Parliament there are 8 female Senators out of 21 accounting for 38%. Feminism in Action Miss Jacinda Ardern powerful symbolism of a working mother at the United Nations will serve as a conduit to galvanize women worldwide. Her message is one that women do not need to choose between having a family and being in the workforce. Contrastingly, Miss Ardern’s resignation also serves to highlight the complexities women face as they balance both work in the private and public spheres. The burden can become too burdensome. Miss Ardern has not only earned the respect of her country New Zealand but also the respect of the global community. Undoubtedly, Miss Ardern was honest to face the electorate regarding how burnt out she was. It can be argued that her stance was one of grace, courage and humility. Based on Ms. Ardern’s past we should not expect her at age 42 to disappear from the international scene. Ms. Ardern service to humanity in will continue in some other capacity. In the words of Jacinda Ardern, I never, ever grew up as a young woman believing that my gender would stand in the way of doing anything I wanted. Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues. waykam@yahoo.com @WayneCamo © #JacindaArdern