Wild Flower
JF-Expert Member
- Jul 20, 2023
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In March, Namibia got its first woman president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. In October, Sanae Takaichi became Japan’s first female prime minister. And in November, Catherine Connolly was elected president of Ireland — in a race where her main rival was also a woman.
Today, women lead states or governments in countries including Denmark, Iceland, India, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Switzerland and Thailand. Female representation in parliaments is also at a new high —more than 27% — and the share of women chief executives in Fortune’s ranking of the world’s 500 largest companies has reached a record, if still paltry, 6.6%.
Yet even as more women rise to top roles, trust in their leadership is stagnating. The recently released annual Reykjavik Index for Leadership, which measures perceptions of people in leadership roles, is little changed in its assessment of female leaders from last year, when the index slumped to its lowest level since it was first published in 2018. Across the Group of Seven economies (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US), only 45% of people surveyed say they’d be “very happy” with a woman at the helm of government. Less than half said the same of a woman serving as CEO of a major company.
The inertia reflects a silent credibility gap that still haunts women in power; it’s proof that, despite visible progress toward gender equality, plenty of invisible barriers remain.
Country-level data provide clues to the forces underpinning the trust stasis. Some countries, notably France, Japan, and Italy, have seen an uptick in trust in women over the past year (Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has received praise for her leadership since taking during a time of crisis for the country three years ago.) Still, others have registered steep declines.
Ironically, the US and Germany, where more women have risen to corporate leadership, are among the countries where trust has fallen. In Germany, more than a quarter of executive board members at blue-chip companies are now women, and a record number serve as CEOs. The UK and US show a similar trend. Both Germany and the UK have also had women lead their governments; and with female parliamentary representation of 32.4% and 40.5%, respectively, they exceed the global average, according to data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
This all suggests that the dip in trust represents a backlash in a time of heightened uncertainty and rapid change — a reaction to women having had the chance to prove themselves in leadership and a widespread judgment that they haven’t adequately risen to the challenge.
Today, women lead states or governments in countries including Denmark, Iceland, India, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Switzerland and Thailand. Female representation in parliaments is also at a new high —more than 27% — and the share of women chief executives in Fortune’s ranking of the world’s 500 largest companies has reached a record, if still paltry, 6.6%.
Yet even as more women rise to top roles, trust in their leadership is stagnating. The recently released annual Reykjavik Index for Leadership, which measures perceptions of people in leadership roles, is little changed in its assessment of female leaders from last year, when the index slumped to its lowest level since it was first published in 2018. Across the Group of Seven economies (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US), only 45% of people surveyed say they’d be “very happy” with a woman at the helm of government. Less than half said the same of a woman serving as CEO of a major company.
The inertia reflects a silent credibility gap that still haunts women in power; it’s proof that, despite visible progress toward gender equality, plenty of invisible barriers remain.
Country-level data provide clues to the forces underpinning the trust stasis. Some countries, notably France, Japan, and Italy, have seen an uptick in trust in women over the past year (Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has received praise for her leadership since taking during a time of crisis for the country three years ago.) Still, others have registered steep declines.
Ironically, the US and Germany, where more women have risen to corporate leadership, are among the countries where trust has fallen. In Germany, more than a quarter of executive board members at blue-chip companies are now women, and a record number serve as CEOs. The UK and US show a similar trend. Both Germany and the UK have also had women lead their governments; and with female parliamentary representation of 32.4% and 40.5%, respectively, they exceed the global average, according to data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
This all suggests that the dip in trust represents a backlash in a time of heightened uncertainty and rapid change — a reaction to women having had the chance to prove themselves in leadership and a widespread judgment that they haven’t adequately risen to the challenge.
SOURCE: BLOOMBERG
