Asian AngleWhat Jacinda Ardern’s experience shows about women in leadership

New Zealand’s former prime minister served as an inspiration to the next generation of women leaders – even in the face of unprecedented hate

Her empathy, self-awareness and deft handling of crises showed the world that a strong, decisive leader can still be compassionate and kind

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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, wearing a hijab, comforts a woman in the days after 2019’s Christchurch mosque shootings. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 8:00am, 27 Jan 2023Updated: 9:33pm, 3 Feb 2023

For a politician who repeatedly said she had no ambitions for New Zealand’s top job, Jacinda Ardern left office this week having forged her own path as a woman leader at the highest level of power.

Throughout her almost six years as prime minister, Ardern demonstrated a fresh brand of leadership that prioritised being authentic, decisive and empathetic – qualities that were on full display as she dealt with a range of unprecedented crises, including a global pandemic, a volcanic eruption and a white supremacist terror attack that killed 51 Muslims.

Ardern’s decision to don a hijab in solidarity with the local Muslim community, and usher in a swift ban on semi-automatic weapons, were perceived as iconic moments of her tenure. She was also credited for her decisive Covid-19 elimination strategy early on in the pandemic. And as the first politician to bring her baby to the UN General Assembly in New York, she sent a powerful call to action for employers to support and empower women.

Jacinda Ardern with her daughter Neve and husband Clarke Gayford (left) at the 73rd UN General Assembly’s Nelson Mandela Peace Summit in 2018. Photo: AFP

But even as Ardern became one of New Zealand’s most popular – and powerful – leaders in recent history, she received a level of abuse no other prime minister in the country had faced.