that misogyny led to Ardern's resignation
If we say misogynistic abuse led to former PM Jacinda Ardern’s resignation, we make a female leader look weak, and risk glorifying and empowering misogynists
Opinion: The Labour party had quite a poll bump after Chris Hipkins became Prime Minister. Is this turnaround in poll numbers the typical "novelty boost”, or does it validate the idea that misogyny is alive and too well in New Zealand?
Maybe the latter, but the narrative that misogyny broke former prime minister Jacinda Ardern's mettle is wrong and unwise, and such a narrative only discourages young women from aspiring to be a leader in the future. Instead, understanding how misogyny evolves and what policies might reduce its potency would provide an alternative narrative that would attract future generations of female leaders.
Misogyny has a deeply rooted economic origin. A Harvard study published in 2013, “On the Origins of Gender roles: Women and the Plough”, established how the descendants of societies that traditionally used plough agriculture, which had a very gendered division of labour, also had less equal gender norms today. Subsequent studies have extended that argument for economies based on other muscle-power-driven industries such as construction.
Link to video and article: The dangerous false narrative that misogyny led to Ardern's resignation (msn.com)
