The pandemic of Covid-19 has changed the way people used to look at women leaders. Here are 5 such women who led the world during the most difficult phase of this generation’s life.
Across the globe, women have been at the centre of organizations carrying out effective and inclusive Covid-19 plans. The same year that Covid-19 was first recognized as a pandemic in human history, the world convened to address the issue of women’s political participation. Many understood it to be a matter of survival because if women didn’t participate in decisions related to public health-related policies and healthcare, they were more likely to die in the case of contagious infectious diseases spreading through local communities and across borders.
Here are 5 successful women who have been able to tackle the pandemic situation most effectively and have made a huge significance in the world:
1. Jacinda Ardern- Jacinda Ardern’s leadership style, focused on empathy, isn’t just resonating with her people; it’s putting the country on track for success against the coronavirus. When New Zealand was facing a national health crisis from a new and deadly strain of influenza, Jacinda Ardern’s leadership proved crucial for mitigating any lasting damage and allowing the government to focus on helping its citizens avoid sickness.
As a leader must do in such dire circumstances, Ms Ardern was firm yet compassionate in her approach. Her messages were clear and consistent while at the same time both sobering and soothing. And her managerial skills are evidently effective because they keep both New Zealand functional as well as civil.
2. Kamala Harris- Harris has been trying to reduce vaccination disparities arising from racial, cultural and socioeconomic concerns across the U.S. These issues range from the fear of vaccinations causing autism to concern over vaccines being associated with unwarranted side effects — causing distrust of the vaccine among minorities and those who dwell in rural areas alike.
In December 2021, she received the first dose of this new vaccine developed by Moderna at United Medical Center in Southeast Washington, D.C., a hospital that serves mostly Black patients from the D.C. region with lower median incomes.
3. Melinda Gates- When the coronavirus pandemic hit, the Bill & Gates Foundation operated by Melinda Gates turned its attention to the vast and complex project of developing vaccines for the new virus, and ensuring that they could be widely distributed.
So far, the foundation has contributed nearly $500 million to coronavirus response efforts. Earlier investments by the foundation are paying off as well- one of the drugmakers it previously funded, BioNTech, has developed a successful Covid-19 vaccine with Pfizer.
4. Alicia Garza- Apart from being the co-creator of the #BlackLivesMatter campaign, Garza is also the Strategy and Partnerships Director at The National Domestic Workers’ Alliance which serves as a nonprofit organization. At the organization, Garza advocates for an end to violence towards domestic workers and ensures that those who have power over them are held accountable for their actions. “We launched a Coronavirus created care fund for domestic workers who are out of work or struggling to make ends meet,” Garza shared on a public domain.
Through her job, she has created a platform that allows the underprivileged to create jobs so they can provide for themselves. “Taking steps to care for others and ensuring that those in power are held accountable has helped me discover what it means to be altruistic and I know it’s given me a sense of there are things that I control”, she says.
5. Mónica Ramírez- Mónica Ramírez is an organizer, attorney and the founder of a non-profit organization that works to protect women and children who are vulnerable to exploitation on the basis of race and gender. Her organization was created as a direct response to desperate pleas from undocumented immigrants who had been forcibly disallowed entry into the United States with their families.
Their plea went forth citing physical, psychological and sexual attacks at the hands of immigration police. In working in conjunction with her partners in certain states throughout the country she directly engaged law enforcement agencies in order to provide assistance through various programs that offer assistance, both legal and otherwise, to people of these backgrounds.
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