Sir, – Finn McRedmond makes some interesting points in her article "Women leaders are doing better, but not for the reason you might think" (Opinion & Analysis, May 15th).
However, having followed media coverage of the pandemic fairly closely I, for one, never viewed the international comparisons provided as crass or for that matter to be any form of Olympic sport.
Rather I had assumed the purpose was to learn from the strategies of those countries with good outcomes.
Furthermore ,while acknowledging that reducing any aspect of human behaviour solely to the gender of those involved is indeed problematic, it is equally important not to gloss over the fact that power – who has it and how they use it – is itself a profoundly gendered phenomenon. – Yours, etc,
FINOLA DOOGAN,
Ferrybank,
Waterford.
Sir, – Finn McRedmond is correct in saying Jacinda Ardern is a good leader because of her abilities and irrespective of her gender.
But your columnist does us all a disservice by suggesting that New Zealand’s relative success is down to geography. Being a remote island nation helps but we still have borders (airports) and millions of visitors per annum. The difference is that we closed those borders early and enforced quarantines. – Yours, etc,
BLAIR Ó BRIAIN,
Aoteroa,
New Zealand.