
Comment Writer Colette Fountain reflects on the criticism that women in power deal with, whilst praising the way that female leaders like Jacinda Ardern have dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic
I guess it could be said that criticism is part of the job when you’re a politician, and no one is under more scrutiny than a country’s leader. This constant criticism has only been exacerbated by the current pandemic as supporters seem to be gaining respect for their leaders while others have grown more sceptical about the reported ‘success’ of their policies. While all politicians are subject to criticism, for women this is significantly worse.
Growing up as a woman, I’ve always been aware of certain stereotypes of women, particularly for women who hold leadership roles. The Devil Wears Prada is one of my favourite films but it perpetuates some of these stereotypes through the ice-cold editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly who was loosely based on Vogue editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour. This characterisation is remarkably accurate in reflecting real-world stereotypes of women in power, often being portrayed in the media as having a heart of stone. However, in stark contrast to this stereotype is the argument that women shouldn’t be in power because they are too emotionally weak to cope with the pressure, a view expressed by Donald Trump when he felt women act irrationally because of ‘blood coming out of [their] wherever’. Thus, female leaders are stuck between two very different stereotypes: being seen as weak and too emotional as a leader, or being seen as too cold and lacking emotion,
“Female leaders are stuck between two very different stereotypes: being seen as weak and too emotional as a leader, or being seen as too cold and lacking emotion
However, during the current global pandemic, we have seen a shift in the ways that female leaders are portrayed as a result of their response to the crisis. While Donald Trump and Boris Johnson continue to struggle, New Zealand has already seemingly recovered, thanks to its female prime minister, Jacinda Ardern. Ardern has always been a relatively popular prime minister, having banned ‘military-style’ semi-automatic rifles a mere six days after the Christchurch Mosque shooting. In stark contrast,
“Ardern has always been a relatively popular prime minister
My hope is that following this pandemic, female leaders will be more common and once in power won’t be subject to the kind of sexist criticism we have previously seen. If our future leaders are going to be anything like Jacinda Ardern, I for one am excited to see what the future holds. Ardern has certainly done a lot to dismantle some of the sexist stereotypes that currently underpin our political systems, and let’s hope it stays that way.
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