Sanna Marin – Finland – Better than Donald Trump- USA
By MDS C19 News , November 8 2020
Would women be better able to manage Covid 19, the question was put to sociologists.
As soon as women enter politics, they are often confined to positions as under-secretaries for health and social affairs and have acquired experience in the field where human relations are essential. In town halls, 85% of the assistants for children, early childhood, family and school affairs are women, while 80% of the finance assistants are men. Women are in the vast majority in the medical or human service professions, and are among the professions most exposed to this health crisis. They take better care of others, and also of themselves. Women thus go to the doctor more often, practice more self-medication and yoga, while men who emphasize virility are those who go to the doctor the least. All this demonstration leads to this question: could male heads of state have reacted later to the crisis because they did not pay enough attention to health?
For Christine Castelain-Meunier, a specialist in gender issues and author of a recent article on the paternal instinct pleading in favour of new fathers, the answer is yes: "Among men, there is the underlying idea that worrying about care means slowing down growth. There is a hierarchy of priorities that is different. Women are much more sensitive to care, to human relations, to quality of life, what I would call "the moral burden": content, knowledge. They have been forced to develop qualities and this is benefiting society. They have, for example, acquired a certain humility that allows them to face concrete problems that are difficult to confront through traditional politics. »
"What used to be attributed to women's culture is now spreading in the sense of a general culture. It is women who carry these values more adapted to the society of tomorrow. This [the good performance of the countries led by these heads of state is a sign that we are at a turning point in the history of society," continues the sociologist at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the School of Higher Studies in Social Sciences (EHESS), who defends herself from wanting to "lock women into traditional values," and prefers to speak of the "humanization" of society rather than feminization, these qualities having been developed, according to her, by women for "historical" reasons, and not biological ones.
Instead of considering that it is women as heads of state who make societies function better, we would do better to ask ourselves whether it is not rather more egalitarian societies, concerned with the common good, and where women have easier access to power, that simply do not allow for better management of these crises. In other words, the fact that women are in power in these societies where crises are well managed is only a symptom, not a cause. "The presence of women is perhaps only the indicator of societies that are better able to manage crises such as the one we are going through," Hélène Périvier summarizes.
A smile lands on Jacinda Ardern's face and immediately flies away. "I am a perfectionist," the New Zealand Prime Minister said on Monday, May 4, 2020, in front of the television cameras. Although there have been no new cases of coronavirus (Covid-19) in the last 24 hours, as a sign behind her indicates, the alert level is maintained at 3. "I want to see these figures once we have been at level 3 long enough to be sure that this is the consequence of this alert level," she continues. These results tend to show the success of the containment measures, but Jacinda Ardern remains cautious. "New Zealand shouldn't let its hard work go to waste, so we can lower the alert level to Level 2 and get more freedom," she says. The country's exemplary behaviour in containing the epidemic must continue in order to "complete the work that has been started". 1,487 confirmed cases of Covid-19 have been identified in New Zealand, 86% have recovered and seven patients are still in hospital. Only 20 people have died. The New Zealand government has been praised by the World Health Organization (WHO) for its rapid and strict implementation of containment. The head of government has cut her salary, as well as those of her ministers, by 20 percent since April 15 for the next six months. Her virtue and vigilance are therefore not unrelated to this assessment.
Jacinda Ardern
Many of the other countries that have fared very well in the face of coronavirus are led by women. In January, at the first sign of an outbreak from China, Taiwanese Prime Minister Tsai Ing-wen put in place 124 measures to stop the spread without the need for containment measures. Taiwan is so well prepared that it has sent 10 million masks to the United States and Europe since April. Tsai Ing-wen has achieved what CNN calls "one of the best responses in the world" to the epidemic. Today, the archipelago counts only six deaths out of 437 cases despite its proximity to China.
In compiling numerous studies on the subject, the American psychologist Alice Eagly observed that "the most marked difference is the tendency of women to be more favourable to participation and collaboration in leadership, while men are more authoritarian. "In fact, a study published by the University of Wisconsin shows that the numerical superiority of male leaders is not due to an innate leadership talent in men. To save lives, perhaps more companies should elect their Jacinda Ardern, Sanna Marin or Katrín Jakobsdóttir.
In Europe, too, some governments presided over by women are showing positive results in the face of the health crisis.
This is the case of Sanna Marin, who became the world's youngest head of state when she was elected last December in Finland. At 34, she has used the "influencers" of social networks as key agents in the fight against the epidemic. An effective way to raise awareness among younger people who may not necessarily read print media.
In Estonia, the results are excellent, its leader Kersti Kaljulaid has perfectly controlled the first and second wave on November 8, 2020 with less than 6,000 contaminated and less than 80 deaths (73 deaths).
Also the Prime Minister of Norway, Erna Solberg perfectly manages her country, 24,000 contaminated and less than 300 deaths (285).
On the front line, the Prime Minister of Iceland with exceptional results, less than 5,000 contaminated and less than 20 deaths (18).
Sanna Marin, the Prime Minister of Finland, for its part, 17,400 contaminated and 362 deaths and Denmark and its leader Mette Frederiksen, 54,000 contaminated and 740 deaths.
In compiling numerous studies on the subject, the American psychologist Alice Eagly observed that "the most marked difference is the tendency of women to be more favourable to participation and collaboration in leadership, while men are more authoritarian. "In fact, a study published by the University of Wisconsin shows that the numerical superiority of male leaders is not due to an innate leadership talent in men. To save lives, perhaps more companies should elect their Jacinda Ardern, Sanna Marin or Katrín Jakobsdóttir.
Avivah Wittenberg-Cox- forbes magazine
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