Why expect Liz Truss to tackle sexism and women’s issues especially?

Expecting women to tackle it better sets up the view that female leaders somehow fail if they don’t advance women’s rights, when men don’t face such pressure
But isn’t tackling institutional sexism and ensuring women’s safety and access to equal opportunities every leader’s job?

Salomé Grouard

Published: 3:30pm, 9 Sep 2022

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Liz Truss, Britain’s former foreign secretary, has been chosen to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister, beating former chancellor Rishi Sunak in the race for the top job. For the third time in history, a woman will lead the country.

Very “girlboss”. But does it mean that Britain will become a better place to be a woman? Not necessarily.

In the case of Truss, her policy proposals, admiration for Margaret Thatcher and loyalty towards Johnson do not augur well for the cause of women’s advancement. Her immediate predecessor was long considered to have a “woman problem”, and proposed little during his tenure to help women in the country, especially women of colour and those from the LGBTQ community.

And although Truss does not like being compared to Thatcher – saying “it is quite frustrating that female politicians always get compared to [her]” – like Thatcher, Truss seems to feel little solidarity with women.

According to biographer Allan Mayer, Thatcher saw her gender as irrelevant, accused working mothers of creating a “creche generation”, and did not commit to balancing female representation in politics: during her tenure, she appointed only one woman to her cabinet, Janet Young.

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Liz Truss named Britain’s new Prime Minister and Conservative leader

On gender issues, Truss’s record as a government minister has also been less than impressive. She was appointed the Minister for Women and Equalities in 2019 but has been criticised for doing too little, whether in addressing the culture of sexual harassment in Westminster or public concerns about women’s safety. Last year, even the women and equalities committee, made up of MPs, accused her of treating the role as a “side hustle”.

So, no: electing a female leader isn’t necessarily a victory for women in the country.

So be it. The larger question is: why is a woman leader held to standards different from her male counterpart?

Expecting women to tackle the issue better than men sets up the view that female leaders somehow fail if they don’t advance women’s rights, while such pressure isn’t applied to their male counterparts. But isn’t ensuring women’s safety and access to equal opportunities every leader’s job?

In Germany, former chancellor Angela Merkel, often referred to as “the world’s most powerful woman”, has been described as leaving an “ambiguous feminist legacy”. In Hong Kong, former chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has been accused of leaving women out of her policies. In the European parliament, the election of Roberta Metsola as president caused a stir, not just because she was the first woman in 20 years to lead the assembly – but also because of her strong anti-abortion stance.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola speaks during a media conference at an EU summit in Brussels on June 23. The Maltese politician assumed office on January 18, the day she turned 43, and is its youngest ever president. Photo: AP

The assumption that women leaders have to tackle sexism persists because representation continues to be seen as synonymous with systemic change. While it is crucial for women and girls to see themselves represented in politics, the power of representation only extends so far. An institution that hurts women will still hurt women, unless those in charge can push through the right changes.

Being a woman in power isn’t enough to empower others if policies don’t follow. That’s why Truss’s victory should only be perceived as an admirable personal achievement. This alone will not have much impact on women, unless the new prime minister decides to invest efforts in this direction.

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In her defence, to expect the very few women elected to power to dismantle institutional sexism while governing a country is part of the unrealistic standards that women leaders are held to, even when many must still bend to gender stereotypes to survive in a man’s world. Society accepts that male politicians can be spokesmen for a multitude of ideas and ideologies, so why not hold their female counterparts to the same standards?

It’s worth highlighting that some female leaders have agreed to take on this challenging mission and have done an outstanding job at addressing sexism and discrimination within their countries and institutions.

In Argentina with Cristina Fernández, in Iceland with Johanna Sigurdardottir, in Brazil with Dilma Rousseff, in New Zealand with Jacinda Ardern: all these female leaders have proved that fighting for policies empowering women have made their country a better place for everybody.

It is every leader’s job to support women’s rights, safety and empowerment. It’s time to accept that women leaders don’t naturally have the urge to do so, and cannot possibly tackle this century-long problem by themselves.

Salomé Grouard is production editor, social media, at the Post and a member of Lunar, an initiative that highlights key issues related to women and gender equality in Asia