Jennifer M. Piscopo & Shauna L. Shames
WHEN COVID-19 paralyzed the globe in April 2020, Donald Trump swaggered about the White House telling falsehoods while New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, held a special press conference to reassure the nation’s children. Canny observers have noted that the places with low case numbers and more effective policy responses—from Germany to Taiwan—are led by women. It is no accident that these states are also strong and wealthy democracies, with capable bureaucracies and high levels of institutional trust.
Though women leaders historically have governed countries both rich and poor, democratic and nondemocratic, today women head some of the world’s most influential democracies.