What percentage of the world’s leaders do you think are women?

25%? 10%?

Sadly, the answer is a measly five. And of 195 countries, only 70 - about a third - have ever had women at the helm.

Today, there are only 14 countries with 50% or more women in cabinet (Spain and Finland being top of the list).

It’s a sobering reflection of the world’s current gender gap, and how far we still have to go. UN Women, the UN entity for gender equality and women’s empowerment, revealed in a recent post that the percentage of women in parliament has actually doubled in the last 25 years, but this equates to only 25% of women in parliament today.

Yet women make exceptional leaders and politicians. So many of the world’s female heads of state (there are currently 21) are a shining example to the rest of the world and, based on recent events, seem to be doing a superior job. The handling of the global pandemic, being a great example; whenever compassion and empathy are needed to soothe or support, female leadership and its emphasis on relational skills come into their own.

The five women highlighted below are true cases of this. Chosen in honour of their progressive policies on climate change and social, gender and economic equality, but also their special blend of strength and compassion.

1. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ

At 29, AOC (as she’s also known) became the youngest woman ever to be elected to the US Congress. Hailing from the Bronx, she struggled financially to get through college and lived most of her 20s paycheck to paycheck. But it wasn’t long before she found herself launching headfirst into a political career after discovering her passion for grassroots community organising.

In June 2018 she beat 10-term incumbent Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary to represent New York’s 14th District. She is among the first female members of the Democratic Socialists of America and advocates progressive policies that include Medicare for All, a federal jobs guarantee, the Green New Deal, and abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

2. JACINDA ARDERN

Jacinda Ardern became New Zealand’s 40th Prime Minister in 2017 and describes herself as a social democrat and progressive. Under her leadership, the government has focused on the NZ housing crisis, child poverty and social inequality. But perhaps it was the way she led the country through the aftermath of the Christchurch mosque shootings, that really drew the world’s attention and admiration. Her natural empathy, warmth and humanity in supporting all those affected, and the rapid introduction of strict new gun laws in response, set an example to every head of state across the globe, and revealed exactly what calibre of leader she is.

3. TABATA AMARAL

One of the youngest women in politics today, at just 26 Brazil’s Tabata Amaral is currently a federal deputy for the Democratic Labor Party representing the state of Sao Paulo. She is a passionate activist, promoting education equality and working to provide funding for progressive candidates running for the first time.

Fun facts: Amaral graduated from Harvard University with a degree in astrophysics and political science.

Before attending Harvard, she represented Brazil in five international science competitions.

4. ZARIFA GHAFARI

Zarifa Ghafari is an Afghan activist and politician known for her efforts in empowering women's rights in Afghanistan. She was officially appointed as mayor of Maida Shahr, the capital of her province in central Afghanistan in July 2018, but on her very first day, faced harassment from a group of men who mobbed her office and warned her to resign from the position. She has since faced death threats from the Taliban and ISIL, and has said that she fully expects to be assassinated.

Ghafari was chosen as an International Woman of Courage in 2020 by the US Secretary of State.

Zarifa Ghafari, the current mayor of Maidan Shahr in Afghanistan’s Wardak Province has frequent threats upon her life and has been granted a full time bodyguard.

5. KATRÍN JAKOBSDÓTTIR

Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir is chairperson of the Left-Green Movement, an eco-socialist political party in Iceland that focuses on democratic socialist values, feminism and environmentalism. Jakobsdóttir, 44, is a pacifist environmentalist and often cited by opinion polls as being one of Iceland’s most trusted politicians. She had campaigned on pledges to restore welfare benefits and to make Iceland carbon neutral by 2040. She has spoken out about the importance of gender equality, countering climate change and expressed a willingness to take in more refugees.

Iceland’s Prime Minister, Katrin Jakobsdottir, hails from a prominent Icelandic family of poets, professors and politicians.

Other female leaders we could have listed here include Ilhan Omar (US), Zahia Benkara (Algeria), Angela Merkel (Germany), Iratxe García Perez (Spain), Diane Rodríguez Zambrano (Ecuador), Sanna Marin of Finland and many more.

Highlighting these women’s contributions to their country and causes is of course a way to inspire women everywhere, not just to pursue their dreams (of a political career perhaps?!), but also to demonstrate that wonderfully powerful combination of strength and kindness, boldness and compassion, bravery and vulnerability.

PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS! Which world leaders inspire you the most? (Male or female!) Would love to know who and why…