Opportunities for female political leadership in a post-COVID-19 world

Contending with a pandemic calls on a vastly different skillset than traditional security challenges like armed conflict. Further, the fact that women are stereotypically linked with the home and the role of caregiver becomes a strength in the face of the pandemic. “The coronavirus crisis is about caring and healthcare crisis, and that’s why the stereotypical role of women matches the crisis we are facing quite well.”
 
This has borne out in cases around the world, with female leaders including Prime Minister Jacinda of New Zealand and President Tsai of Taiwan being hailed for consulting a range of stakeholders when making decisions and heeding scientific advice in their policymaking.
 
On the flip side, many male leaders have fallen back on stereotypically masculine responses, relying on projections of strength and overconfidence that has ultimately undermined the response to the virus and encouraged risk-taking behavior. In cases like U.S. President Trump and Brazilian President Bolsonaro, this toxic masculinity may be behind the rejection of face masks as a sign of weakness, which has hampered the response to the coronavirus and cost lives. “Now we can see that masculinity or male leadership may actually be problematic, so people have started to rethink what makes a good leader,” said Dr. Miura.
 
At the same time, Dr. Miura noted that countries that have elected women to prominent positions in public office may be better positioned to deal with unexpected challenges for reasons beyond the individual leader herself. For example, a country with diverse elected leaders is more likely to embrace good governance as a whole, which ultimately boosts the state’s capacity to deal with unforeseen crises.
 
Following Dr. Miura’s lecture, the Women2Win fellows engaged in a lively discussion about their experiences and concerns regarding gender expectations in politics. Many noted that policy issues are often divided by gender, which inherently limits female politicians’ development and upward mobility. For example, women politicians are often associated with welfare, childcare, and education policy, while men are associated with military and financial policy, which traditionally command more political power.
 
Other participants argued that cultural expectations and societal context exert a strong influence over whether women enter politics, with some women being reluctant to venture beyond the home to run for political office or preferring to prioritize family over a political career.
 
In response, Dr. Miura emphasized the direct connections between women running their households and politics. “Motherhood means caring for other members of the family or the community. This is a very essential component of the government, too. The government has to take care of its members. We need politics to take care of each other. So, if you switch the image of politics from building bridges or constructing industry to taking care of people’s lives and health – which is more critical during the pandemic situation, but even after the pandemic – then mothers and motherhood is a very good quality to engage with politics. Women’s active participation is thus crucial to make a more caring and gender equal society in the post-COVID-19 era.”

This training module was originally scheduled to take place as part of a week-long training session in Kuala Lumpur in March 2020, but was postponed and moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.