An Ode to Ardern
Photo courtesy of the Governor-General of New Zealand
In the all-too-often treacherous political climate for female leaders, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been hugely successful. Rather than shying away from her femininity, Ardern conducted her premiership with a blend of strength and compassion, redefining the rules of female political leadership.
Jacinda Ardern became Prime Minister of New Zealand at the age of 37, the youngest of her kind for the last 150 years. First elected as an MP in 2008, Ardern recalled how she felt: “I constantly questioned whether I had the right character traits and personality for that environment.” Ardern continued to subvert norms when she had a baby whilst serving as Prime Minister, and highlighted the difficulties of being a working mother, especially when in the public eye.
Associations of strength, assertiveness, and leadership with masculinity continue to permeate political debate today. In turn, women have been historically excluded from the realm of political leadership, as power and femininity are viewed as incompatible, mutually exclusive ideas. Ardern has suggested this gives women lower levels of confidence when entering politics: women see “a list of traits that you need to possess to take on a role, and you only see the ones you don’t have”.
Consequently, many female leaders, in order to survive and succeed, have somewhat diluted their feminine traits, or even shied away from representing themselves as an overtly female leader. Margaret Thatcher only referred to her femininity when appealing to mothers in the electorate, which some feminists claim hindered the promotion of gender equality in the UK. She also infamously received vocal training to lower the pitch of her voice, so she would be taken more seriously by colleagues. Similarly, a study on Hilary Clinton’s linguistic style over her political career found that as she came into more senior roles, she increasingly “talked like a man”.
So whilst women have to adopt masculine styles of leadership in order to be taken seriously, they are often branded as being a ‘bitch,’ and are met with reactions that view them as overly assertive and aggressive. If they are seen as possessing ‘feminine’ traits of leadership, such as being interpersonal, compassionate and sensitive, they can be viewed as inherently weak and incompetent. Women’s style of dress, appearance, and emotions are focused on, constantly placing their gender at the forefront of their identity, rather than their policies or decisions. Thus, adopting stereotypical ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’ leadership styles makes women leaders lose, as either way they will be viewed negatively.
Based on this, it is clear that Ardern achieved something extremely rare as a female political leader. In simply being herself, her leadership was defined by a combination of strength and compassion. In fact, her compassion has been heralded as one of her greatest strengths as leader, suggesting that female traits of leadership may not always be synonymous with weakness and downfall. In this way, Ardern did not have to choose between presenting herself as strong and presenting herself as kind, between presenting herself as stereotypically masculine, or feminine: she was both. Her femininity became her strength.
Her response to the Christchurch Mosque Terrorist Attack in 2019, in which 51 people were killed, was commended around the world. A picture of her wearing a hijab and holding a grieving woman became symbolic of her response of solidarity and compassion. But her swift motion to ban semi-automatic weapons only six days following the attack also showed her strength and decisiveness to act.
Ardern received global praise for her country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with less than 2500 deaths and 90% double vaccination rates. Out of this, along with other examples of successful female-led COVID-19 responses, came suggestions that female leaders were better at handling the public health crisis. Thus the Pandemic may have strengthened perceptions of female leadership, with Arden as one of the prime examples of success.
Unsurprisingly, Ardern has not sailed through her premiership without dealing with sexism and misogyny. In an interview alongside her partner, the interviewer noted how people had been “counting back” in order to work out when the baby had been conceived (this was met with a polite laugh, but mostly grimace, from Ardern). She was similarly asked by Mark Richardson whether it was okay for a female Prime Minister to take maternity leave while in office. Another presenter asked how her “hair was doing” after she had dyed it, with the presenter joking: “why did you dye it anyway? Is it going grey or something?” Most recently, Ardern and Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin were asked whether they were meeting due to their similarities in age (and although not outwardly said, gender), to which Ardern answered “because two women meet, it’s not simply because of their gender.”
Ardern’s resignation further shows her strength as a leader. With resignation usually coinciding with an ungraceful demise, scandal, or loss of internal power and reputation, Adern’s decision is thoughtful and considered. She does not want to cling onto power when she no longer feels that she can do the job to her full potential.
In a world where the glass ceiling is slowly but surely cracking, Ardern has become one of the most successful and inspirational examples of female leadership today. She does not let herself be defined or constrained by her femininity, but rather uses it to strengthen her leadership. In doing so, she has paved the way for political leadership to reach out of the confines of masculine stereotypes. Ardern’s message that leaders can be “kind but strong, empathetic but decisive, optimistic but focused”, has created a unique and unparalleled legacy for female leaders to continue in her footsteps.