Clark: Womenmust roll out own carpet
‘‘Don’t let the bastards get to you.’’ That is Helen Clark’s message for New Zealand during her visit Down Under for International Women’s Day.
On Wednesday evening, Clark sat down for an extensive Q&A session with a Wellington audience who had gathered to watch the documentary about her bid for the top job at the United Nations – My Year with Helen.
The main topic of discussion was about her careerlong fight to break through the glass ceiling.
The former New Zealand prime minister, and former head of the UN Development Programme was unsuccessful in her push for the job of UN secretary-general – as were all the female candidates.
The UN, established in 1945, has only had male leaders but pressure was mounting for a woman to take the top job.
‘‘I say there’s never a glass ceiling I couldn’t crack at home but I certainly met one at the UN,’’ Clark said.
Most top UN officials had not experienced women’s leadership. They were only 5.7 per cent of world leaders, and 21 per cent of those at the UN headquarters were women.
‘‘You’re dealing with a community of countries that haven’t experienced top women’s leadership. They don’t really see that as relevant or interesting.’’
Months out from the final voting, Clark realised she was not going to get the job.
And there were discussions about whether she should pull out.
‘‘Just to walk away would have made it look like you were quitting ... And one thing about Clarks is they’re never quitters.’’
The other serious female candidates in the race made the same decision, Clark said.
‘‘It wasn’t that pleasant but the point was made that there were serious women candidates and none of them was treated seriously, and that’s a serious issue for the UN.’’ Clark said if another male secretary-general was chosen next time, it would be a ‘‘critical blow’’ for the UN in terms of its integrity and representation.
While the ‘‘very visible’’ glass ceiling – which Clark sometimes referred to as the ‘‘steel ceiling’’ – had been frus- trating to come up against, she took a philosophical view: ‘‘you win some, you lose some’’. People had to be resilient enough to lose and be able to carry on, because ‘‘winning is the easy part’’, she said.
Clark said women had to ‘‘jostle’’ their way in; no-one ever rolled out the red carpet. ‘‘You have to roll out your own carpet, and kick the door in.’’ And learn not to take things personally.
‘‘I got to a point about midcareer where I never took anything personally again.’’
There were a few key learnings to take from being knocked down: depersonalise, be strategic, and be resilient. ‘‘Don’t let the bastards get to you,’’ she said. More than gender Clark said there was more at play in her not getting the job than gender issues.
Many in the UN wanted someone who wouldn’t rock the boat, who was more secretary, than general, she said.
New Zealand had always prided itself in taking a stand for what was right, but that thing Kiwis were proud of, likely also worked against Clark. She believed her strong, direct voice was possibly too strong.
New Zealand had a history of standing up to big countries – those that held veto power at the UN – like the US and France, with issues like nuclear-free and the Rainbow Warrior.
‘‘There is a file somewhere that says New Zealand is trouble.’’
While that may have been Clark’s downfall in the secretary-general election process, ‘‘I kinda like that’’, she said.
Clark said the UN was at a turning point and was in desperate need of an overhaul.
The organisation had not worked out if it had the tools to prevent and control modern conflicts, and on the peace and security side it was struggling.
It needed a strong, decisive leader, who was willing to take risks and take a stand, even if it wasn’t popular – like former secretary-general Kofi Annan did on the Iraq war.
The UN should not be pushed to a point where it did what it was told, in order to save its funding, she said.
‘‘It has to stand for something, and if it doesn’t stand for something, it stands for nothing.’’
On Thursday morning, Clark visited Parliament for International Women’s Day, where she spoke to politicians, community and industry leaders, and young women.
Despite what was going on in the world, she encouraged New Zealanders not to lose hope.
‘‘Never think your little bit doesn’t make a difference.’’
Enough small acts, in the right direction, would add up.