‘Women tend to do a better job’: Christine Lagarde praises female leaders for role in pandemic

‘This is my woman’s bias and I indulge in ceding to this bias,’ she says

Christine Lagarde has said woman leaders have played "an incredible role" during pandemic (Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images)

Female leaders have done a better job than their male counterparts during the coronavirus pandemic, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB) has suggested.

Christine Lagarde said it was “quite stunning” to see the policies and communication style used in countries led by women as the world faced the global Covid-19 outbreak.

The ECB boss was asked by The Washington Post what she thought Europe has learned about political leadership during coronavirus, and what has helped the continent as it emerged from lockdowns.

“I would say that for myself I’ve learned that women tend to do a better job,” she replied.

Germany, led by Angela Merkel, has seen around 9,000 fatalities — in comparison with death tolls in the tens of thousands in nearby Italy, France, UK and Spain.

Norway, Denmark and Finland — European countries with female prime ministers — have recorded hundreds of coronavirus deaths. Meanwhile Sweden, which decided not to lockdown its economy as other Nordic countries did, has seen more than 5,600 deaths to date.

Speaking about female leaders’ response to coronavirus, Ms Lagarde said it was “quite fascinating”.

“When you look at those countries that were led by women, and the path that they took and the policies that they adopted, and the communication style that was in play was quite stunning,” she said.

She added: “This is my woman’s bias and I indulge in ceding to this bias.”

In March, as coronavirus started sweeping through Europe, Norway’s prime minister, Erna Solberg, held a press conference just for children so they could ask questions about the Covid-19 outbreak.

Elsewhere in the world, Jacinda Arden, New Zealand’s president, has been praised for imposing an early lockdown. The country has seen 22 deaths to date.

Tweeting a clip of her Washington Post interview, Ms Lagarde said she spoke about “the incredible role women leaders have played amid this pandemic”.