There is a noticeable trend surrounding countries that have women in positions of power and COVID-19 infection rates. Countries with women leaders have seen significantly lower rates of COVID-19 than those led by men. This movement has not gone unnoticed, and many wonder if it is a step in the right direction for female leaders worldwide.
In terms of evaluating women’s’ leadership effectiveness during the pandemic, it is best to look at the team’s response as a whole. Listening to daily statistics is not enough to fairly judge a response to the pandemic given that biased parties likely present the information.
Some female leaders recognized for their work during the pandemic include Angela Merkel for her dedication to the data behind the pandemic and Jacinda Ardern for her empathetic rationality during these uncertain times.
While it is true that female leaders around the world have risen to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, there are a few other factors to take into consideration. One factor is that there are not that many women leaders to base this data from. Overall, women only make up about 7% of the world’s leaders. It is worth noting that this number is still significant in starting to encourage women in leadership roles.
Something else to think about are the other factors that are at play. It is important to realize that the leader is not responsible for all of the things that happen in a certain geographic area. While they certainly can influence what happens, some things depend on procedures that were put in place previously.
Another factor is the existing culture in the country. If a country has a female leader, some people would argue that they are already a few steps ahead of other countries. With this approach, it is not surprising that a country that is already ahead would be better prepared to deal with a pandemic than other countries.
Lastly, it is no secret that women have to work harder to convince others that they deserve positions of power. Because of this, many times women are more qualified for men to take on these positions.
The response of female leaders around the world to COVID has proved once again that women are strong, capable, and empathetic leaders. Although they must fight harder to get into leadership roles, they’ve demonstrated time and time again that they are excellent at creating positive, lasting changes.