New Zealand Prime Minister Jessica Adern was praised for her leadership style during the outbreak. Pool photo by Mark Mitchell
And last Monday was a day of victory for Prime Minister Jessica Aden (Jacinda Ardern). As a result of the nation`s efforts, New Zealand has not only managed the new coronavirus epidemic, she said, but has also achieved great success in the difficult goal of eradicating the virus. The blockade imposed by her since 25 March is now over.
female-led countries appear to be particularly successful in fighting coronavirus, a trend of widespread concern, and adehn`s success adds an up-to-date data point to the trend.
in germany led by angela merkel (Angela Merkel), the rate of death caused by the virus is much lower than britain, france, italy or spain. Finland is governed by Prime Minister Sanna Malin (Sanna Marin),34, through four women-led political parties, alliance less than 10 per cent of the death in neighbouring Sweden. TW President Tsai Ing-wen presided over one of the world`s most successful virus containment efforts, using tests, contact tracing and isolation measures to control the spread of the virus without blocking the entire territory.
We should not draw conclusions about women leaders on the basis of the exceptional circumstances of individual eminent persons. But experts say women`s success may still provide valuable lessons on ways to help countries survive not only the current crisis but also the future.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel`s government balanced data sources and epidemiological models in deciding how to fight coronavirus. Michael Kappeler/DPA,via
Brown M&M chocolate beans and male politicians
The rock band Van Helen (Van Halen) is famous for adding a clause to the tour contract requiring the venue manager to put a bowl of M&M chocolate beans in their dressing room, but with the underlined capital letter "warning ":" Never brown. "
The true purpose of the clause has nothing to do with chocolate. By contrast, it is easy to see whether the venue manager has carefully read and followed the full description of the contract —— including the band`s extremely complex stage and equipment safety guidelines.
As the absence of brown M&M represents a cautious, safe place, the emergence of female leaders may also indicate that a country has more inclusive political systems and values.
The diversity of sources of information and the humility of leaders who are willing to listen to the outside voice are critical to a successful pandemic response, writes Dr. Devi Sridahar (Devi Sridhar), essay director of global health management at the University of Edinburgh School of Medicine, in a commentary in the British Medical Journal (British Medical Journal). "The only way to avoid group myths and blind spots when making major decisions is to ensure the presence of representatives with different backgrounds and expertise ," she wrote. "
Having a female leader represents the signal that people with different backgrounds —— and thus likely to respond to the crisis in a variety of ways —— can win a place. For example, in Germany, Merkel government considered a variety of different sources of information, including epidemiological models; data from medical institutions; and evidence of the success of testing and isolation programs from South Korea, when developing its new coronavirus policy. As a result, the country`s new coronavirus death rate is significantly lower than that of other Western European countries.
government, by contrast, the male-led swedish and british —— have a large number death new coronavirus —— appear to rely mainly on their own consultants for epidemiological modeling, with few channels for outside experts to challenge.
But a little sign is not evidence. Moreover, the diversity of views that diverse groups bring to the problem may be overshadowed by the political system in which they live.
A political scientist at Duran University, Ruth Carriles (Ruth Carlitz), analyzed the governor`s record and found that women did n` t blocking measures faster than men to fight the new coronavirus. (This is her recent analysis, not yet peer-reviewed. )
That may be because partisan politics engulfs everything and outweighs any gender impact. The Republican governor of the United States, both men and women, was later than the Democratic governor on the issue of home orders, he found.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson claims to be tough on Brexit negotiations. But its government response to the warning was slower than in other countries. Will Oliver/EPA,via
Escape from the Double Constraint of Sex
Trump After President David Marcus (David Marcus), a conservative journalist, argued in an article on the Federalist website (The Federalist) that Trump "is projecting American power ", after he was not wearing a mask in public. If Trump wore a mask, he wrote, it would "signal that the United States is so powerless against invisible enemies from China that even its president has to hide behind it ".
Among large country conflict, medical assistance is usually less important. But marcus`s analysis is actually in line with the traditional image of a strong american leader: a person who shows strength, positive action, and, above all, does not show fear, thereby intimidating america`s enemies and letting them succumb.
In other words, a strong leader should conform to the various high-spirited ideas represented by "masculinity ".
This often brings difficulties to women politicians. "Leaders are expected to be aggressive, aggressive and domineering. "Women can be considered less feminine if they show these traits ," said Alice Evans (Alice Evans), a sociologist at King`s College, University of London (King`s College London) who studies how women gain authority in public life. This makes it difficult for women to be successful leaders. "
ade`s approach to the epidemic is far from the traditional model. But in this new crisis, her cautious leadership has proved successful. "I would say that closing economic early is a risk-averse strategy ," Evans said. "Because no one knows what will happen, our strategy is to protect life first. "
New zealand began the blockade on march 25, adehn first coax young children to sleep, and then through the mobile phone on the fb to do an informal live live broadcast, to address the country. She wore a sweatshirt that looked comfortable, felt the anxiety of the public, and apologized to those who were frightened or shocked by the emergency alarm that issued the blockade.
"There`s no other way to send out those emergency civil alarms to your cell phones than the kind of loud horn you hear ," she said chagrin. "This is in fact a question that we are all discussing: is there a way to make the messages we send less alarming? "
By contrast, Trump tried to anthropomorphize the virus into an enemy for his denunciation, calling it a "clever enemy ". But, while this may have encouraged his ballot box, it has not helped the United States to contain the epidemic. America is now the world`s largest death of coronavirus.
President Trump met with parliament councillor at an airport in Pennsylvania on Thursday. Doug Mills/The New York Times
Here in Britain, Boris Johnson (Boris Johnson) came to power as a prominent supporter of Brexit, promising to take tough steps to win the best "deal" for Brexit. But the techniques he used to fight brussels bureaucrats proved ineffective in fighting the pandemic. His government delayed the blockade and other important protective measures, such as improving testing capabilities and ordering protective equipment for hospitals. Britain now has the second highest number of death in the world.
Of course, male leaders can overcome gender stereotypes, and many have done so. For women, however, the political cost of doing so may be low, as they do not have to violate accepted gender norms when adopting prudent, defensive policies.
This leadership style may become increasingly valuable. As the consequences of climate change escalate, extreme weather and other natural disaster could trigger more crises. Hurricanes and forest fires, like viruses, do not succumb to stress. The same is true of climate change itself.
Eventually, this may change the perception of strong leadership. "We learned from the new coronavirus that, in fact, another different type of leader could be useful ," Evans said. "Perhaps people will learn to identify and value risk-averse, caring leaders. "
