Women Leading the Way
By Marisa Rivera
During a Global Pandemic
The world has gone through a major shift in just a few months
and so have we. It has been the first time, where the
entire world has been shut down at the same time and
¡Las Jefas!
for the same cause – The Coronavirus-19 Pandemic. As we watch every
country deal with the pandemic, something stands out – the countries
with the best coronavirus responses have one thing in common, women
leaders – Las Jefas. Angela Merkel from Germany, Mette Frederiksen from
Denmark, Katrin Jakobsdóttir from Iceland, Sanna Marin from Finland,
Jacinda Ardern from New Zealand, Erna Solberg from Norway and Tsai
Ing-wen from Taiwan have all implemented measurements and put into
place national plans quickly and effectively that has made their efforts
successfully contain the coronavirus to a minimum.
It is not pure coincidence that these countries led by women seem
to be particularly successful in fighting the coronavirus. Female leadership
is what the world needs now. These women have used their female
leadership to deal with this global epidemic. These women have provided
purpose, direction, compassion, empathy, and cautious and courageous
leadership to drive their national direction. They have acted decisively and
quickly, rather than reacted. They have focused on protecting lives rather
than protecting profits. They have provided knowledge and information,
rather than political rhetoric, fear and blaming others for their own faults.
They have spoken with their heart and demonstrated compassion, and
empathy rather than egocentric and fear base points of view.
People want to hear the truth, even if it is not pretty. All these world
leaders gave information to their countrymen and women and children
early on, on how serious and dangerous this virus potentially could be, and
people listen. They began providing testing right away to all their citizens,
not only the people with active symptoms. They began early self-isolation
and banning foreigners from entering their country like Jacinda Ardern in
New Zealand. They have instituted thorough tracking systems, like in
Iceland, or speaking to their country’s children via TV, explaining to children
why it was OK to feel scared, so beautifully done by Norway’s prime
minister, Erna Solberg. They have used technology and social media to
directly speak to the people.
I see Las Jefas leadership everywhere. I see it in our global leaders,
in our nurses at the hospitals, in our first responders, in our cleaning crews
and restaurant servers to the lady selling handmade masks around the
corner.
The originality, the human connection, their quick response, their
actions, their empathy, and compassion pouring out of these leaders is
what the world needs now.
This is a war that is not fought with arms, but with LOVE, human
kindness, determination, and action. All the qualities women leaders have.
We need new leadership to deal with the new era of global threats. This
global pandemic has revealed that women’s leadership has what it takes
when the real humanitarian crisis arises.
These leaders have given us a
refreshing way of dealing with crisis
and an alternative to strong-handed,
totalitarian manly ways of leading. It
is time we recognize that Las Jefas
strong and caring leadership works,
and we should elect more of them to
lead our countries and our causes!
Want to comment or have
any questions on this article?
Email us at
info@latinastyle.com
LS
Marisa Rivera is
president of
Mpowerment Works,
a motivational
speaker, executive
coach and
leadership and
empowerment
consultant. Marisa@
MpowermentWorks.
com.
46 www.latinastyle.com LATINAStyle V ol. 26, No. 4, 2020
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