Female leaders have been better at tackling Covid-19, says ECB chief

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/22/female-leaders-have-been-better-at-tackling-covid-19-says-ecb-chief

Agence France-Presse in Frankfurt
Wed 22 Jul 2020 12.40 EDT


Female leaders are doing a better job of handling the coronavirus crisis than men, the European Central Bank’s Christine Lagarde has said, praising them for honest communication and for showing they care.

The differences in policies and communication in countries led by women were “quite stunning”, she said in an interview with the Washington Post. “I am going to be extremely biased. I’m not going to be a central banker at this very moment but I would say that for myself I’ve learned that women tend to do a better job,” she said.

Lagarde, the ECB’s first female president, singled out the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, for particular praise. She cited Merkel’s science-based approach as an example of how “very honest, transparent” explanations of coronavirus data and infection rates helped members of the public appreciate why masks, social distancing and confinement measures were necessary.

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Germany has weathered the coronavirus crisis better than many of its European neighbours, while Taiwan and New Zealand are considered success stories in the fight against the pandemic.

By contrast, observers have noted that male, populist leaders such as Donald Trump, Jair Bolsonaro and Boris Johnson have struggled to contain the outbreaks in their countries.

Lagarde, 64, a former French finance minister, said leadership was about “being both responsible and accountable”.

“It’s about caring as well … I think the caring dimension is something that [female leaders] managed to express well. And that was considered by viewers and voters probably as authentic.”