Go hard and go early – the female leaders keeping the death toll down

Women’s management styles have proved to be more conducive to a swift response that nets results

‘The absolutely most important thing is that for women leaders to be elected at all, they have to be outstanding, exceptional’

Jennifer Rigby, Sarah Newey

Dominic Gilbert

WOMEN make up less than 7 per cent of political leaders globally but from Taiwan to Iceland the response to coronavirus by countries with women at the helm has been seen as among the most effective at keeping deaths down and the spread of infection under control.

The statistics back up this impression: when The Daily Telegraph compared the responses of different nations, plotting deaths per million against the proportion of tests being done per confirmed case – arguably the clearest way to measure government response – four of the top 10 countries are led by women: Taiwan, New Zealand, Iceland and

Estonia. There are some caveats, of course. Belgium, led by Sophie Wilmès, has had one of the worst outbreaks in Europe, in terms of deaths per capita, with 7,207 among its 11.5 million residents, a figure which includes care home deaths.

And there are a number of countries with male leaders who have also responded well, notably Vietnam, South Korea and Australia. Other factors, like the benefits of being an island nation, should also not be underestimated.

For global health experts, success lies in one thing: speed.

“Countries that have not dithered in their response, that have mobilised quickly, have done well,” said Prof Tom Bollyky, director of the global health programme at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank.

Or, as New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern put it, “go hard and go early”.

But why have female leaders been the ones who have done this? Experts pointed to a combination of factors, from their more collaborative style to more diverse perspectives. Clare Wenham, assistant professor in global health policy at the London School of Economics, said: “Political research in spheres beyond global health shows that when you get more women at the top there’s more transparency, accountability and good governance practices, normally.

“Certainly in Finland and New Zealand we’re seeing daily updates from the leaders and transparent decision-making, so that then means there’s more trust in the government.”

Jennifer Tomlinson, professor of gender and employment relations at Leeds University Business School, said: “There is some mileage in the idea that women’s leadership styles may be more collaborative than men, so women may be better at drawing on a range of expertise to get through this crisis.”

For President Tsai-ing wen of Taiwan that may have meant listening to her vice-president, a leading epidemiologist, about their longplanned response. It worked and the country has so far seen only six coronavirus deaths.

“It seems to be one of the key things is around the date of the shutdown, in places like Taiwan and New Zealand,” said Dr Deirdre Anderson of Cranfield School of Management, Bedfordshire.

“The stereotype is that men are more decisive but if you look at all sorts of different cases, women will make data-driven decisions,” she said.

But while some fall back on the stereotype that this shows more empathetic leadership by women, Prof Tomlinson suggests this represents the fact that women – still the main care-givers in many societies – have broader experiences to draw on.

But she insists: “The absolutely most important thing is that for women leaders to be elected at all, they have to be outstanding, exceptional.

“And that’s why we are seeing strong leadership from these women.”