Women, power, and the pandemic

As Nicholas Kristof wrote in June, the apparent correlation between female leadership and a country's success controlling the pandemic might be "about the kind of country that chooses a woman to lead it." Further, a new study points out that countries with female leaders generally score better in equality indices. So women aren't necessarily the better leaders; rather, countries that elect women are generally in better positions to handle a public-health crisis. But I would also add this speculation: since misogyny blocks women's advancement to positions of power, women with power are seldom mediocrities. And unfortunately for the countries led by them, mediocre men have trouble dealing with such a crisis. (Andrew Shields, #111words, 28 July)