Confidence in female leaders has fallen - the Reykjavik Index

I was recently invited to join Chatham House's online discussion of this years Reykjavik index, it seemed to me we were all surprised by this years results. This is a personal view on what we were told and how the facts don't seem to marry the opinion.

Confidence of men in a female boss has fallen across the US and the UK, according to a G7 Index that looks at 20 different business and industry sectors and the attitudes of more than 10,000 people. 

The Reykjavik Index fell from 82-86 in the UK to 76-78. This means that there has been a fall in the confidence the workforce would have in a female boss. Drilling into the numbers, they show the downward pull is a result of the male survey respondents lower raking of female leaders. 

The index is published by Women Political Leaders (WPL). WPL is the global network of female politicians. The mission of WPL is to increase both the number and the influence of women in political leadership positions. 

According to Katrin Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland, a key sponsor of the research: 

“The Reykjavík Index sheds a light on the gender gap in leadership and on the gender stereotypes that hold us back; individually, societally and economically. Gender equality doesn’t happen by chance, we need to take action towards it. Governments and businesses can lead the way.” 

Given political leadership is under such great scrutiny right now, as the Coronavirus ravages the world’s populations and economy, it may be an idea to test this perception against actual performance at this moment in time.  

We looked at three countries, all led by women, to see how they were performing during the crisis – New Zealand, Denmark and Germany. 

Kwik Kiwi’s tackle the threat 

Led by a new mum, Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand has been in total lockdown since 25 March, at which time they had had no deaths and just 150 cases of the virus. The government took a total elimination strategy. It looks like it has paid off, according to the UK’s The Guardian, Jacinda Ardern says: ‘We have done what very few countries have been able to do. We have stopped a wave of devastation’. 

According to the live statistical and news site, Worldometer, at the time of writing the Kiwi’s had only 12 deaths for the 1440 cases, and were testing more people per million of the population than their Oceania neighbours.  

Germany rises to test in time of crisis. 

Mutti, or “Mama” as Angela Merkel is affectionately known, leads one of the world’s top 5 economies, Germany. The German approach has begun to ease this week, as there is a belief the outbreak is under control. They have had fewer deaths their EU peers and have been praised for their super-fast response to the pandemic, they are testing more than 100,000 people a day – far more than any other EU country. Although the news is good, Mrs Merkel has maintained a cautious approach – keen to avoid a second spike. 

Denmark’s leading the response 

Her Excellency, Mette Frederiksen, is the youngest Prime Minister in Danish history. Denmark is one of the first European countries to be able to reverse the lockdown restrictions, in early April primary school aged children began to return to school. The Prime Minister spoke of caution, she was keen to avoid a further lockdown and tightening of restrictions.  

However, the question that this report has raised in this current time of the coronavirus, what is behind the opinion? Why do some men see women as less capable leaders? The current evidence suggests women world leaders are doing just as good if not better than their male counterparts. It begs the questions why does this bias still exist and how can we work to remove it? 

Change can be slow but not impossible. Companies must have honest conversations with board leaders. They must discuss with male colleagues how to better support women in the workplace, review recruitment requirements and policies and recognise female talent make everyone accountable to ensure an inclusive environment.  

Now is the time to ensure that your future workplace, whatever that looks like after COVID-19 is one that recognises, celebrates and rewards female talent, not discriminate against it.