Is the great woman theory of coronavirus leadership true?
Source: Spectator
A couple of days ago, Norway’s Prime Minister, Erna Solberg, was asked why countries with women leaders were having more success combating the coronavirus pandemic than their male counterparts. After all, Taiwan, New Zealand, Finland and Germany were all faring better than Brazil, or America, or the UK. Surely, the question implied, there was something special, something powerfully apt at this critical moment, about female leadership?
Solberg didn’t bite. She said her country, and others with female leaders, have ‘a little bit less testosterone and power politics’ and a more collective approach to political problem solving. She did not say that Norway’s success in dealing with the virus was all down to her gender.
This answer will be a disappointment in some quarters. During the season of the virus, journalists, scientists and officials all over the world have struggled to understand why some countries are handling the pandemic better than other countries. Clearly, this is a question of devilish complexity that precludes easy explanations.
Click here to read the full article published by Spectator on 5 June 2020.
A couple of days ago, Norway’s Prime Minister, Erna Solberg, was asked why countries with women leaders were having more success combating the coronavirus pandemic than their male counterparts. After all, Taiwan, New Zealand, Finland and Germany were all faring better than Brazil, or America, or the UK. Surely, the question implied, there was something special, something powerfully apt at this critical moment, about female leadership?
Solberg didn’t bite. She said her country, and others with female leaders, have ‘a little bit less testosterone and power politics’ and a more collective approach to political problem solving. She did not say that Norway’s success in dealing with the virus was all down to her gender.
This answer will be a disappointment in some quarters. During the season of the virus, journalists, scientists and officials all over the world have struggled to understand why some countries are handling the pandemic better than other countries. Clearly, this is a question of devilish complexity that precludes easy explanations.
Click here to read the full article published by Spectator on 5 June 2020.