Women & politics

Less than two months into 2023 two high level female politicians quit their position; New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Both have mentioned being tired; “I am a human being as well as a politician”, “giving absolutely everything of yourself to this job it’s the only way to do it”, said Sturgeon. “I have nothing left in the tank” was the reason Ardern quit. Or at least this is what they said publicly. I cannot help but thinking that it might not true and that it’s just the façade to cover something else.

But let’s put aside for a second this possibility and let’s comment the fact that they admitted they were not able to do the job anymore. Is it a defeat to admit that you can no longer cope with a situation? Is it weak to know and recognize your limits? It seems women can do it. Why men don’t? Because they don’t know their limits, or because they are too afraid to appear weak? Or because – and here I come back to the first hypothesis, they are not forced to quit?

Did Ardern and Sturgeon quit because they value other things in life than work, or are women under so much pressure that they can make it only until a certain point? Is the glass ceiling also in front of us, and not only above us?

Are women humble enough to recognise it’s hard to be a politician, or is it too much to combine what is expected from a woman in the private life with political work? The BBC thinks is still not possible for women to have both a fulfilling and up to societal standards private life and holding public office, since it published an article with the title “Can women have it all?”. They quickly modified it as they were accused of sexism. It is sexist indeed but I find the question legitimate. If getting the prime minister job and having children means having it all, the answer is yes, but if the question is getting the prime minister job, having children and resisting the pressure from family, the society, co-workers, keeping it all together on the long-term, the answer might be no. For instance, Ardern resigning might indicate that women with small children and the support – emotional, logistical, financial,… – from society that we have at the moment cannot have it all, they can until they are too exhausted and have to give up. Men also cannot have it all, it’s not possible to be a full-time politician and spend time with your family, it’s just too demanding a job, but they are (usually) not put under pressure because they arrive home late or miss a birthday party, as the society is not expecting them to “excel” (in the sense of being present at 100% all the time) at both.

I would add that women with children cannot have it all without the support of the partner (or family, friends,…) and society. Similarly, female politicians cannot have it all without the support of the men of their party.
If you have seen the tv show Borgen, you will know *spoiler* that the one that seemed the most supportive of husbands wasn’t there for his wife until the end of the mandate. If that relationship, based on an equal partnership, didn’t survive, not many would.

Let’s imagine now that the human side that Sturgeon and Arden showed was just a way to cover the fact that their popularity plummeted and that they have been pushed out by their party. It could be that they chose, or that it has been chosen for them to claim they are too tired to carry on. Have they been pushed to show their weak side?
It could be that parties use women’s “weakness” to get rid of them when they don’t need them anymore.We have seen that women are often selectes as candidates when a party needs to win votes, as it just happened in Italy with Partito Democratico that put forward Elly Schlein because it was trying to come out of a period of crisis. Women are useful when they can bring votes, or when there is not much else to lose.
Ardern is not popular in New Zealand at the moment. An emotional and heart felt speech is better for the party than her fellow politicians kicking her out because she would not win.

I wonder what do fellow male politicians think about when they hear Ardern saying “I am human”. Are they envious, because women are allowed to and have the courage to give up, or do they think women are not fit for the job? Are they jealous because they would also like to have more free time to spend with family and friends?

We will never know if Ardern and Sturgeon wanted out or were asked to leave, either way it requires a lot of courage and strength to admit you are too exhausted to keep it together. To say “enough”, no matter what people think of you. It’s ok to be tired, to wish to have more time for yourself, for your children, for not choosing work, to wish to rest at the prize of deceiving people. It’s ok but it’s not easy.