A trend of women-led nations successfully subduing the coronavirus has gained a lot of attention, especially when many male-led major countries with advanced economies and healthcare systems have been flailing. What are the countries with women leaders doing differently?
One common theme is the swiftness of the response. Women leaders took the coronavirus seriously and did not underestimate the risks, unlike, say, US President Donald Trump. They also acted decisively, either with strict lockdowns or (in the case of Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen) highly-effective testing and tracing programmes.
There are other factors at play here besides leadership. New Zealand, for example, is an isolated nation with a population spread out thinly over a large area, which makes containing the outbreak easier. Others such as Iceland can implement universal testing because of tiny populations.
In Scandinavian countries, Sweden alone took the much-talkedabout approach of placing economic considerations alongside the health risks of the pandemic. The Covid-19 figures for the country, headed by a male prime minister, stand in stark contrast to statistics of Finland, Denmark and Norway, all of which are headed by women: Sweden has recorded close to 5,000 deaths, whereas the other three nations have kept their individual toll to less than 600.
Gender disparity
Only about 21% of cabinet ministers around the world are women, as per the World Economic Forum. Experts such as Devi Sridhar of the University of Edinburgh say that diversity in leadership positions in countries will lead to better policy outcomes. It should also be noted that women bear the brunt of the pandemic’s impact. They constitute 70% of global medical workers and also face an increased burden in caring for family members during the lockdown.
FINLAND
Sanna Marin, 34, is one of the youngest prime ministers in the world and she took office only 6 months ago, around the time the virus emerged in China. Following a strict lockdown from March 18 onwards, Finland has managed to contain the outbreak, recording fewer than 7,000 cases. Now the country is set to reopen on June 1, with restaurants, theatres, bars, cinemas and crowds up to 50 allowed. Even schools and universities will resume classes.
GERMANY
Angela Merkel, a scientist herself, didn’t mince words early on during the outbreak, when she warned that up to 70% of Germans could get infected. Merkel looked at information sources outside of her government for determining its response, including South Korea’s strategy. This is in contrast to male leaders in countries such as the UK (where the toll is much higher), who listened mainly to their own advisers.
ICELAND
Katrin Jakobsdottir’s rapid response to Covid-19 has been instrumental in Iceland recording the lowest death rate in Europe. The country has tested more people (including those with no symptoms) per capita than any nation. Iceland joined hands with deCODE genetics, a biopharma firm, to begin Covid-19 testing as early as March. This aggressive testing and tracing practices allowed the country to avoid strict lockdowns and is expected to open to tourists by June 15.
DENMARK
Denmark was one of the earliest to lock down. Though it has a relatively higher count of coronavirus deaths, the country’s left-leaning PM Mette Frederiksen has been praised for acting decisively to control the outbreak. As a result, the country of 6 million has largely returned to pre-Covid-19 status, with restaurants and hairdressers and other places with large gatherings now back in business. Denmark has also rolled out universal testing, which is key to fighting a second wave of cases.
NEW ZEALAND
From the outset, New Zealand was determined to wipe out the virus altogether. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had a motto of “Go hard and go early”. She put the country under a aggressive lockdown as soon as about 100 people tested positive. Daily new infections plunged in April to single digits, from a peak of 89, and Ardern has allowed businesses and schools to reopen. The duration of lockdown has been much shorter than other countries’ in the Pacific
TAIWAN
The country of 24 million has recorded just 441 cases and 7 deaths, despite the island’s proximity to the virus epicentre Wuhan. Using the experience of vice president and former health minister Chen Chien-jen, a Johns Hopkins University-trained epidemiologist, President Tsai Ing-wen’s administration was able to overcome the pandemic without a full lockdown. Besides beginning testing on Dec 31, 2019, Taiwan led the way in diligent contact tracing and medical checks. When passengers arrived in Taiwan in March-April, they had to hand over phones to authorities for recording details. The phones’ GPS signals were used to track the arrivals’ location and make sure they stayed put in quarantine. Police would turn up if the phone stopped transmitting the GPS signal. The country also sought out patients with respiratory symptoms and tested them for Covid-19