When New Zealand’s PM Jacinda Ardern announced her decision to resign last week, the headline for the story in one of the news reports read: “Jacinda Ardern resigns: Can women really have it all?” Evidently, the temptation to gender the topic was difficult to avoid.
42-year-old Jacinda is one of those few prominent women leaders in the field of politics considered the forte of men. According to the data available, global participation of women in national politics is below 25%, 8% of national leaders are women, and just 2% occupy presidential posts. Jacinda has been breaking stereotypes and the glass ceiling– only the third woman PM the country has produced so far.
Breaking the glass ceiling not enough?
When you delve into the reasons for the minuscule representation in the terrain, there are factors like bias among the electorate towards women candidates, apart from institutional and individual barriers.
Jacinda has not just trounced these challenges but also emerged as the leader after joining the Labour Party when she was 17.
Her 25-year-old journey has been rife with highs and lows— the lowest moment being her announcement to step down last week. Amid pressing troubles like inflation, rising interest rates, and housing affordability issues, she is perceived to be soft on crime. With several legacies behind her—her brand of governance standing out the most– the global pandemic brought the most tumultuous phase in her career, including the backlash for her vaccination mandate and violent protests.
When she announced her decision to step down, she said, “I know what this job takes, and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It’s that simple.”
The headline in the report rendered her statement with a sexist interpretation. Though it argued that women should reject unrealistic expectations placed on them and go for their dreams, it garnered objections for the clickbait-esque title (later changed after issuing an apology) that contradicted its message.
Not the first leader to exit
For the last three years following the pandemic, the world has remained chaotic and transient. Governments across have faced the heat—be it in the UK, which saw the resignation of Boris Johnson last year, or in Brazil, which was on the verge of a coup.
Yet, when a woman leader resigns on similar grounds, the failure to maneuver the crisis hinges on her gender. The question posed for women ‘Can you have it all?’ after they give their all and decide to take a step back after failing, perpetuates the same biases they fight hard on their way to the top on a less-trodden path.
Jacinda’s exit is another case study for the world to examine as everyone wraps their heads around the ramifications of the pandemic on economics and politics. And, it is certainly not the moment to rake up banal discourses around how it is ‘either/ or’ for women.
