Case 14.3 Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand<\/p>\n
On March 15, 2019, a shooter opened fire during Friday prayers at two Muslim mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. More than 50 people were killed (including several children), a number that rivaled the island country\u2019s total murders for a year, and dozens more were wounded. Prior to the attack, the shooter penned a chilling 74-page manifesto, which was sent to the prime minister\u2019s office. He then livestreamed himself on Facebook as he stormed the Al Noor Mosque. The hate-based attacks left New Zealand, a country known for its low crime rates and reputation for welcoming immigrants, in a state of shock and grief.<\/p>\n
The response by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand\u2019s 39-year-old leader, was swift and unflinching. Avoiding divisive language, she instead united and galvanized a country in crisis. Speaking at a press conference, she reminded people of the importance of the diversity of their culture:<\/p>\n
For many, New Zealand was their choice . . . The place they actively came to, and committed themselves to . . . where they were part of communities who they loved and who loved them. A place where they were free to practice their culture and their religion.<\/p>\n
For those of you who are watching at home tonight, and questioning how this could have happened here, we\u2014New Zealand\u2014we were not a target because we are a safe harbor for those who hate. We were not chosen for this act of violence because we condone racism. We were chosen for the very fact that we are none of these things. Because we represent diversity, kindness, compassion, a home for those who share our values, refuge for those who need it. . . .<\/p>\n
We are a proud nation of more than 200 ethnicities, 160 languages. And amongst that diversity we share common values. And the one that we place the currency on right now\u2014and tonight\u2014is our compassion and support for the community of those directly affected by this tragedy. (Chandler, 2020)<\/p>\n
In an address to Parliament a few days later, she stood firm, refusing to give the shooter the one thing she felt he desired: notoriety. After opening her address with the Arabic greeting\u00a0As-salamu alaykum\u00a0(\u201cPeace be upon you\u201d), she expounded, \u201cHe is a terrorist, he is a criminal, he is an extremist, but he will, when I speak, be nameless, and to others I implore you: Speak the names of those who were lost rather than the name of the man who took them. He may have sought notoriety but we in New Zealand will give him nothing\u2014not even his name\u201d (Hjelmgaard, 2019).<\/p>\n
Focusing her efforts on honoring those who lost their lives and standing up to right-wing terrorism, Ardern vowed to cover funeral costs and provide financial assistance to grief-stricken families. Recognizing that gun control was a weak link in New Zealand, a land where gun ownership is widespread, she also pledged to take swift action on gun control. A month later, under her leadership, New Zealand\u2019s Parliament approved a ban on semiautomatic and military-style weapons, a feat that much larger countries struggling with long histories of mass shootings had yet to accomplish.<\/p>\n
While Prime Minister Ardern was well supported in her efforts, her detractors were not quiet. The speed of the process was criticized, to which she countered, \u201cYou either believe that in New Zealand these weapons have a place or you do not. And if you believe, like us, that they do not, you should be able to agree that we can move swiftly. My view is that an argument about process is an argument to do nothing\u201d (M. Schwartz, 2019).<\/p>\n
Her resolute and expedient actions were only one element of Ardern\u2019s approach to leading her country through uncertainty, tragedy, and grief. She reached out directly to the communities most affected, visiting Christchurch the day after the shooting and taking with her the leaders of all New Zealand\u2019s political parties. She visited the mosques to mourn directly with the families, and personally met with, listened to, hugged, and consoled family and friends of those lost and injured\u00a0in the shooting. In a show of respect and empathy, she donned a black hijab, a traditional headscarf of the Muslim faith.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Prime Minister, when she came wearing her scarf, that was big for us,\u201d shared Dalia Mohamed, one of the many mourners who attended (Hjelmgaard, 2019).<\/p>\n
Who Is Jacinda Ardern?<\/p>\n
At 37, Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern became the youngest prime minister (PM) of New Zealand since 1856 and only the third woman to hold the position. Her rise in New Zealand politics was termed the \u201cmost meteoric rise to power of any New Zealand PM\u201d (Atkinson, 2018).<\/p>\n
Ardern was born in 1980 in Hamilton, located in New Zealand\u2019s politically conservative Waikato Region. She was the second of two daughters and raised in the Mormon religion, a conservative faith that advocates for the traditional role of women within the family. She ultimately broke from the church over its prohibitive view on homosexuality and same-sex marriage (Wallenfeldt, 2020).<\/p>\n
Ardern spent her early years in Murupara, a small, isolated town known as the center of Maori gang activity. Maori are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand and comprise almost 15% of the country\u2019s population (New Zealand History, n.d.). Seeing \u201cchildren without shoes on their feet or anything to eat for lunch\u201d inspired her to enter politics (Jones, 2017).<\/p>\n
At the age of 17, she deviated from her conservative roots and joined New Zealand\u2019s more liberal Labour Party. With the help of an aunt, she joined the reelection campaign of Harry Duynhoven, a Labour member of Parliament (MP). After receiving a bachelor\u2019s degree in communication studies from the University of Waikato in 2001, Ardern became a researcher for Labour MP Phil Goff, which led to a position on the staff of then prime minister Helen Clark. The second woman to hold New Zealand\u2019s highest office, Clark was Ardern\u2019s political hero and mentor (Wallenfeldt, 2020).<\/p>\n
In 2005, Ardern left this position for an \u201coverseas experience,\u201d a traditional rite of passage for New Zealand\u2019s middle- and upper-class youth involving an extended\u2014usually working\u2014trip to Britain. While many young New Zealanders often use this as a time to work menial jobs and tour the continent, Ardern instead secured a position in the cabinet office of British prime minister Tony Blair. As the associate director for Better Regulation Executive, she spent two and a half years working to improve the interactions between local authorities and small businesses. Her subsequent election as president of the International Union of Socialist Youth in 2007 further expanded her horizons, taking her to Algeria, China, India, Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon (Wallenfeldt, 2020).<\/p>\n
Back in New Zealand, Ardern was selected for a Parliament seat as a list candidate and, at the age of 28, took her place as New Zealand\u2019s youngest member\u00a0of the House of Representatives. Unafraid to speak her mind, in her first address to the House \u201cshe called for the introduction of compulsory instruction in the Maori language in New Zealand schools and she castigated the government for its \u2018shameful\u2019 response to climate change\u201d (Wallenfeldt, 2020).<\/p>\n
Because she was a rising political star, Ardern\u2019s age and physical attractiveness did not go unnoticed. In 2011, in what was dubbed by the press as the \u201cBattle of the Babes,\u201d she ran for the seat representing Auckland Central that was held by another of New Zealand\u2019s young political women, Nikki Kaye of the National Party, who was five months older than Ardern. Ardern bristled at the media attention on her physical attractiveness, characterizing herself as an \u201cacceptable nerd\u201d with a \u201crelentlessly positive\u201d approach to life. Narrowly losing to Kaye by 717 votes, Ardern returned to Parliament again as a list candidate (Wallenfeldt, 2020).<\/p>\n
Ardern spent the next few years fostering key relationships and beneficial assignments, being named the Labour Party\u2019s spokesperson for social development and for arts, culture and heritage, children, justice, and small business. In 2017, after a landslide win for a vacant parliamentary seat, she was unanimously elected as the Labour Party\u2019s deputy leader. But just weeks before the 2017 September general parliamentary election, the party\u2019s leader stepped down. Before he did, he convinced Ardern to take his place (reportedly, she refused seven times before agreeing). On August 1, Ardern found herself unanimously elected the Labour Party leader and the party\u2019s new candidate for prime minister.<\/p>\n
Ardern\u2019s \u201ccharismatic optimism, strength, and down-to-earth charm quickly energized voters\u2014especially women and the young\u201d (Wallenfeldt, 2020). She campaigned for free university education, reductions in immigration, decriminalization of abortion, and the creation of new programs to alleviate poverty among children. More broadly, her platform included a \u201cfairer deal\u201d for the marginalized (Wallenfeldt, 2020).<\/p>\n
Dubbed \u201cJacindamania,\u201d Ardern\u2019s public support rapidly escalated, and political experts began characterizing her as a \u201crock star\u201d politician likening her to Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and former U.S. president Barack Obama.<\/p>\n
If elected, she would be only the third female prime minister of New Zealand, a fact she did not shy away from in her campaign. When an interviewer asked her whether she planned to have children, she initially had no problem answering such a personal question. However, when another interviewer took the issue further by implying that employers had a right to know whether prospective female employees planned on taking time off from work to have children, she quickly clarified her previous response and the acceptability of such questions. \u201cI decided to talk about it, it was my choice . . . but . . . it is totally unacceptable in 2017 to say that women should have to answer that question in the workplace. It is the woman\u2019s decision about when they choose to have children. It should not predetermine whether or not they are given a job or have job opportunities\u201d (Wallenfeldt, 2020).<\/p>\n
The election was held, but no party had enough votes to gain a majority. After weeks of negotiation and the subsequent tally of special votes (overseas votes), Ardern found out at the same time as the rest of her country that she would become its 40th prime minister. She was sworn in on October 26, 2017.<\/p>\n
When she took office as the world\u2019s youngest world leader, she was 37, unmarried, and pregnant. She and her partner, Clarke Gayford, welcomed their first child in June 2018, making her only the second elected head of state in modern history to give birth while serving, as well as the first elected leader known to ever take maternity leave (Hjelmgaard, 2019).<\/p>\n
She continued to make history when she brought her three-month-old daughter to a United Nations General Assembly meeting. In an interview with\u00a0The New Yorker, Ardern and Gayford shared their perspectives on juggling family and professional responsibilities, with Gayford saying, \u201cIt was a no-brainer to say, \u2018Right, I\u2019ll take care of her, you take care of the country\u2019\u201d (Hollander, 2018).<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to ever give the impression that I\u2019m some kind of Wonder Woman,\u201d Ardern added. \u201cOr that women should be expected to do everything because I am. I\u2019m not doing everything\u201d (Hjelmgaard, 2019).<\/p>\n
Less than a week after the Christchurch shootings, Ardern was extolled not only by the citizens of her own country but also by the international community for her decisive and compassionate response to her nation\u2019s shock and grief. Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook\u2019s chief operating officer, described Ardern as a \u201cpolitical prodigy\u201d who was \u201cchanging the game\u201d for women around the globe (Hjelmgaard, 2019). Later that year, Ardern was named by\u00a0Timemagazine as one of the world\u2019s 100 most influential people.<\/p>\n
In the words of her mentor, former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark, Ardern is a natural and empathetic communicator who doesn\u2019t preach at people, but instead signals that she\u2019s \u201cstanding with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey may even think: \u2018Well, I don\u2019t quite understand why the government did that, but I know she\u2019s got our back.\u2019 There\u2019s a high level of trust and confidence in her because of that empathy\u201d (Friedman, 2020).<\/p>\n
Questions<\/p>\n
In a\u00a0USA Today\u00a0article shortly after the mosque attacks in New Zealand, writer Neill Borowski (2019) profiled Ardern\u2019s accomplishments during the crisis, listing these four things to know about Ardern:<\/p>\n
She\u2019s New Zealand\u2019s youngest leader in decades.<\/p>\n
She refuses to the give the shooter notoriety.<\/p>\n
She promised tougher gun laws.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s a mom.<\/p>\n
What do you see as the relevance of the last bullet point?<\/p>\n
Do you think if Ardern had been male and a father, this author would have found it equally as important to include that he was a father? Why or why not?<\/p>\n
Human capital is the first element of the leadership labyrinth discussed in this chapter. Discuss how each of the four aspects of the human capital element relates to Ardern. How has she addressed the challenges of each?<\/p>\n
The chapter describes the existence of \u201cperceived\u201d differences between men and women in how they lead, which, in the past, have been considered to be natural consequences of innate differences.<\/p>\n
Do you agree or disagree that these are innate to each gender? Why?<\/p>\n
What are some ways that Ardern leads that might be different from a male leader?<\/p>\n
What are some ways that Ardern leads that might be the same as a male leader?<\/p>\n
This textbook has discussed several different leadership approaches (authentic, situational, leader\u2013member exchange, transformational, etc.). Which of these approaches apply to Ardern\u2019s leadership? Explain why.<\/p>\n
It is suggested in this chapter that women are more likely to serve as \u201csocial facilitators\u201d than men. Do you feel this true of Ardern? If so, how has this served or not served her and her constituents?<\/p>\n
Prejudice is one of the leading contributors to the leadership gap between men and women. Discuss how the four aspects of prejudice outlined in the leadership labyrinth may have influenced Ardern and her political career. What types of barriers and obstacles did they each present?<\/p>\n
The book notes that \u201cwomen face a double standard in the leadership role; they must come across as extremely competent but also as appropriately \u2018feminine,\u2019 a set of standards men are not held to\u201d (Eagly & Carli, 2003). The burden to balance agentic qualities and communal qualities is greater for women than for men. How did Ardern experience this double standard?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Case 14.3 Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand On March 15, 2019, a shooter opened fire during Friday prayers at two Muslim mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. More than 50 people were killed (including several children), a number that rivaled the island country\u2019s total murders for a year, and dozens more were wounded. Prior […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[10],"class_list":["post-93903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-research-paper-writing","tag-writing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93903\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/papersspot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}