It’s sad that the primitive idea of women incapable of being a leader is still prevalent to this day. However, it’s worse when you realize that this same sentiment came out of our very own president’s mouth. “This is not for a woman,” President Rodrigo Duterte stated. “You know, the emotional setup of a woman and a man is totally different. It will drive you nuts. This is the sad story.” This statement is simply misogynistic and women can be capable of anything, even leading.
They argue that women are too emotional, indecisive, and weak. This is a common gender-based stereotype made by the patriarchal society to discredit women and their abilities.
With such a misogynistic remark coming from someone as influential as the president of the Philippines, it makes us wonder: are we regressing? The Philippines maintains its rank as the best-performing country in Asia in terms of gender equality, but it dropped eight places, from being 8th to 16th place. Not to mention, our president enabling misogynistic mindsets by constantly making sexist jokes at the expense of women while these are being downplayed as attempts to “lighten the mood”.
What if being emotional and indecisive are traits that leaders should have? According to a medically reviewed article from PsychCentral, being emotional makes you more empathetic, self-aware, and helps develop emotional regulation; which is the ability to control strong emotions and not acting upon them in an impulsive or destructive manner.
Fine, let’s say that a woman is too emotional and cranky during that time of the month. Don’t male presidents also have their moments when they let their emotions take over them? After all, it wasn’t women who recklessly started wars throughout history.
As for being indecisive, at least people being indecisive look at different opinions and perspectives, and think twice before making a final decision. It’s better than being stubborn and close-minded.
But the truth is, women being indecisive is far from the truth as the women in power today think and act fast. President Tsai Ing-Wen, the first female president of Taiwan, had a swift response against COVID-19. She’s one of the first and fastest in the world to make a move as she made 124 measures to block the spread back in January last year. Taiwan didn’t even have to resort to a lockdown unlike the rest of the world. CNN considers her COVID-19 response as “among the best globally”.
Another example is New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. It was due to her decisiveness that New Zealand was able to control COVID-19. She handled the pandemic outstandingly, all while taking care of her two-year-old baby.
There are studies that do suggest that men and women have different leading styles, but why are we telling women that in order to be successful, they have to act more like men? Women should be able to lead in their own ways and men can even learn from women as well.
Sadly, despite countless women proving this notion wrong by being such great leaders, this mentality is still ingrained in today’s society. To resolve this, men need to start being part of the conversation. Men’s active participation in combatting sexism is needed to take the next step in achieving gender equality.
Call out your fellow men on their sexism and stop enabling their misogynistic behavior and mindset. Be part of the conversation.
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