Pandemic, Stereotypes, and Women as a Voice of Reason by Tamara Bralo

Much has been said and written praising the performance of women leaders during the Covid19 crisis. It’s a fact: women leaders have done well, some exceptionally so. They have also done disproportionally better than men leaders. A lot of what’s been written often reminds of a backhanded compliment, much like telling someone they scrub up well; it’s less about a compliment and more an expression of surprise.

Empathy is frequently singled out as a category in which women score better, thus reducing the importance of their competency, favoring style over substance. Shouldn’t we talk more about what they delivered rather than how? If we agree to do so, it becomes obvious that what they have in common are data driven decisions. In other words, decisions based in reason.

So why not judge them by same standards as their male counterparts: as individuals and as professionals, not defined by their gender? If you’re not quite ready to let go of generalizations, we could start with one: it could be that women are uniquely positioned to understand healthcare scares better. After all, 75 percent of healthcare workers worldwide are women according to the World Health Organization.

Should you care to look closer, however, women leaders’ responses are fully colored by their backgrounds and individuality. There have been two superstars of the corona-response, Germany and New Zealand – in both cases, countries led by a woman. Angela Merkel, and her PhD in chemistry, led Germany calmly and scientifically through the nightmare. She sat the nation down, calmly explained that up to 70 percent of them are likely to be infected and outlined how they’re going to fight it. While the infection rates were high, the mortality rate was remarkably low.

New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern was one of the first to impose strict social restrictions to battle the virus. Her degree in politics and PR showed early as she rallied the country to quarantine: ‘We go hard, we go early’ – in an ingenious nod to New Zealand’s rugby culture. When you need unity, you could do far worse than invoking sports. Two of the youngest leaders, showed their age – in the best way possible.

Instead of strict lockdowns, Iceland’s Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir turned to biotech companies. Iceland tested early and aggressively and did so without charge and regardless of whether people exhibited active symptoms. It administered tests to more of its residents than any other country, and by isolating those who tested positive (and them alone) avoided both the shutdowns and the high mortality rates.

Finland’s Sanna Marin, at 34 years old, currently the youngest world leader; put social media influencers on par with doctors, bus drivers and supermarket workers as essential worker, arguing that they can reach more people than the government. The influencers enhanced rather than contradicted the mainstream media. If you doubt her reasoning, it is helpful to remember that social media’s messages about drinking pure alcohol as a cure for.

Coronavirus is behind more than 700 deaths in Iran. Or, for that matter, that ‘don’t drink bleach’ was trending in the US. When it comes to social media, however, it was the leader of a small Caribbean country that became a Twitter favorite. She also served as a perfect example that we are all defined by our professional background… for better or for worse. Sint Maarten’s Silveria Jacobs, in her no-nonsense address to the nation announcing the quarantine measures stated: ‘Simply. Stop. Moving. If you do not have the type of bread you like in your house, eat crackers.’ If you have flashbacks to seeing a principal in your high school days, it’s for a reason: her background is, you guessed it; in education. None of this is meant to take away from the importance of empathy as a leadership quality, male or female. It is just meant to offer a prism through which women are recognized as qualified and competent leaders, without skewing the data with the stereotypes.

Pandemic, as tragic as it is, provided us with rare set of data in which all leaders are subjected to the same threat: what we take away from it is important. It is true that no male leader offered reassurances to children that Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny ARE essential workers and will continue their work, the way Ardern did. Or that no male leader held press conferences for children, as they did in Finland and Norway. Not even that is JUST about empathy: it’s about teaching civic duty and invoking unity. Even in those who cannot yet vote for you.