In the 21st century, seeing positions of power exclusively occupied by men is still the norm for most countries around the globe. To this day, whenever we hear of a woman’s name in power, she is automatically met with criticism and has her capabilities questioned. How many times have you heard: “She’s taking the place of a man” or “How will she be able to raise kids?”. New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern proved everyone wrong when she became the most successful leader in protecting her country from the COVID-19 pandemic. New Zealand was one of the few countries able to record as little as 53 deaths due to COVID from the beginning of the pandemic until now.
At the very beginning of the pandemic, Ardern consulted several professionals in the medical and scientific fields who advised her to make one of two choices as an ultimatum: either to flatten the curve or to achieve herd immunity. Since she wanted to eliminate the risks, protecting the people was more practical in that moment. Ardern believed that isolating the country was worth every life they could save. In fact, she was one of few world leaders to announce a lockdown of level 4 from the first few weeks of the pandemic. It was mentioned that the lockdown didn’t just flatten the curve, “it absolutely smashed it”.
This was with no doubt a great success for New Zealand, but did it avoid an economic collapse? If we look around the world, there are more than 200 million unemployed people and millions of firms and stores have closed their doors due to bankruptcy, all due to the pandemic, and inflation is eating off the savings of thousands. So, did New Zealand protect its people’s health at the cost of its economy?
Surprisingly, the answer is no. This country has done wonders over the past few years as it has recorded exceptional GDP growth. In addition, the government has proceeded to invest in the economy, in turn decreasing the unemployment rate. As a matter of fact, the unemployment rate in New Zealand is at an all-time low at 3.2%, which is even more significant in comparison to the global unemployment rate of 6.3-6.5%. Although the country suffered some losses due to inflation, they weren’t drastic enough to warrant major complaints. In fact, concerts were occurring, schools were open, and life seemed somewhat normal.
What Jacinda Ardern did was not a miracle, it was simply her job. She chose to lock the country down and protect its people from a worldwide pandemic while offering them the necessities to survive. It would be irrational to expect people to remain on lockdown if you do not offer them what they need. Although New Zealand had to compensate for the economy with governmental funding, it was worth it in the end. Today, 93% of eligible New Zealanders are vaccinated as the country reopens its connections with the world. Jacinda Arden will forever be a role model for every girl who aspires to make a change.