When the first women reached the highest echelons of power, many hoped their presence would fundamentally transform politics. Today, however, looking at the experiences of female leaders like Angela Merkel in Germany, Jacinda Ardern in New Zealand, and Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland, we realize that political change can never stem solely from the gender of a leader.
These women undoubtedly possessed remarkable talents. Merkel, through her management of European crises; Ardern, with her human-centric leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic; and Sturgeon, through her fight for Scottish independence—each added unique insights to the world of politics. Yet, they also faced the same limitations as their male counterparts: rigid political structures, partisan games, and the complex realities of governance.
The key point is that these leaders demonstrated that women govern neither better nor worse than men. Like men, they had their own strengths and weaknesses. Merkel excelled in managing Europe’s financial crisis but faced significant criticism for her energy policies. Ardern masterfully handled the response to the Christchurch terrorist attack but fell short of fulfilling all her promises in housing issues. These experiences teach us that evaluating leaders should be based on their performance, competence, and tangible achievements—not their gender. Expecting change solely through the leader’s gender is not only misplaced but also unfair to women, as it places them under the pressure of unrealistic and impossible expectations.
However, the role of these pioneers in paving the way for future generations cannot be overlooked. Their presence accelerated the normalization of women’s participation in the realm of power, revealed new models of leadership, and showed young girls that there are no boundaries to their aspirations. Today, we are in a new era of the fight for gender justice. Justice not just in statistics but in opportunities, expectations, and evaluation metrics. Perhaps the greatest legacy of these female leaders is that they taught us true gender balance is achieved when we look beyond gender and evaluate each leader based on their own merits. Gender balance in leadership lies not in counting the number of women in positions of power but in building mechanisms that allow all talents, regardless of gender, the space to grow and shine.
The Guardian News Agency