On the surface, one would be hard-pressed to find many similarities between German chancellor Angela Merkel, Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina, and Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf — except for the fact that they are all female leaders of nations. Merkel, for example, spent more than a decade as a chemist before going into politics, while Hasina, the daughter of Bangladesh's first president, served as her father's political assistant while at college, and Johnson Sirleaf worked at multiple financial institution s before running for vice president. Is there something deeper than they share?
The researcher Susan R. Madsen of Utah Valley University interviewed women in some countries about their paths to leadership. She was surprised by the similarities among the women when they spoke about how they became leaders. "Every single one of them talked about finding their voices and their confidence at dinner-table conversations with their families. Their parents talked about politics, about what was happening in the community, and when the women had something to say, their parents didn't stop them," Madsen said.
As part of a series of interviews on women and leadership, I spoke to three women from different countries who have each become leaders in their respective fields: Agnes lgoye of Uganda, who works with her government to counter human trafficking; Ikram Ben Said, the founder of Tunisian women's rights organization Aswat Nissa; and Sairee Chahal of India, who started a digital platform that helps women get back into the workforce.
All three of my interviewees pointed to the family environment they had been raised in — particularly a father figure who taught and empowered the women in the family to learn, ask questions, and form their own opinions. Also, mothers broke convention by displaying leadership within the family.
Igoye, for example, credited her father with having the foresight to send his daughters to school despite opposition from others in their village. Her mother went back to school as an adult to improve her career as a teacher, which lgoye described as being a big influence on her. Similarly Ben Said talked about how her father encouraged political debate among the family when she was growing up, even when her opinions contradicted his. Meanwhile, Chahal said that even in her younger days, her parents went against the general convention of expecting their daughters to aim only for a good husband.
Another conclusion from Madsen's work is that women's leadership development doesn't look like men's. "Men tend to follow a more straight path to becoming a leader. Women's paths are much emergent. They tend to not necessarily look ahead and think, ‘I want to be on top.' Women would point to a number of experiences— motherhood, or working with a non-profit, or sitting on a board, as shaping their path to becoming leaders," she said.
Actually, women leaders tend to be held to higher standards than their male counterparts, lgoye has felt this in Uganda. "Women who take up leadership positions in my country have to be tough, it's not easy at all," she said. "You are always aware that you are representing all women. You have to work extra hard to deliver, to perform, because if you do something wrong, they will say, 'Ah, you see, women!' "
Therefore, merely having women leaders can change the opportunities available for generations of women in a country. What leadership looks like in their country, how much of a voice the women leaders are having, influences what leadership is and what it means to its women.
What do women leaders have in common?
| Introduction | These female leaders come from different cultural and political backgrounds, but do they share any? |
| Findings of Madsen's research | In their early years, these female leaders were enabled to express themselvesand develop their confidence at dinner table. They got more chances to beto politics. ⚫ Different from men, their previous experiences help them work their way to theof their career ladder. |
| Findings of the author's research | All these female leaderstheir success to their family environment. ◇Unlike other children in her village, Igoye receivedwith her sisters. ◇Ben Said was encouraged to debate among the family even when her opinions wenther father's. ◇Despite the general convention ofwell, Chahal was brought up otherwise. ⚫ Women leaders have to workthan men |
| Conclusion | Female leadershipa lot to a nation and its women as well. |
