There are a number of progressive leaders and countries across the globe today who demonstrate an ambition for social reform, an urgency to combat the climate crisis and compassion toward their citizens. For example, in Sweden, politicians live like every other citizen of the country, and not a life of luxury and privilege like is so common elsewhere. Aside from the Prime-Minister, Swedish politicians use public transport, and do not have private drivers. Some other progressive leaders and countries include:
Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand
Jacinda Ardern with her daughter Neve at the UN general assembly. Credit: Extra.ie
Credit: Egypt Independent
New Zealand’s Prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has been praised as one of the most powerful women in the world for her global outreach, leadership skills and tolerance. She was just the second person ever to give birth while in office, in 2018, and has since become the first world leader to bring an infant to the UN general assembly. She did this because she was still breastfeeding her three-month old daughter, so baby Neve had to travel with her mother to New York for the six-day trip. A frugal leader, Ardern froze MPs salaries in 2018 for a year and insists on them carpooling to events. She received global praise for her response to the 2019 Christchurch terrorist attack in that following the incident her government introduced strict firearms regulations. She also gained worldwide admiration for her compassion for the victims and victims’ families. A photo of her hugging someone from the Christchurch Muslim community with the word ‘peace’ in both English and Arabic was projected onto the world’s tallest building and seen around the world.
New Zealand is considered one of the most progressive countries in the world as it has been known to be a trailblazer in terms of women’s rights, employment rights and in taking action against the climate crisis. New Zealand was the first country in the world to give all women the right to vote – in 1893! It wasn’t until 1918 that SOME women in Ireland got the right to vote, and it was 1945 before women in Italy were allowed to vote! In terms of the environment, New Zealand is working towards attaining 90% of its power from renewable sources by 2025. The country was the 13th in the world to legalise gay marriage in 2013, and in 2016 it made 0-hour contracts illegal which means that companies must guarantee a certain number of hours to its employees per week. There is a great respect for indigenous culture in New Zealand and it was also ranked the second safest country in the world in 2017.
Sanna Marin, Finland
Li Andersson, Katri Kulmuni, Sanna Marin, Anna-Maja Henriksson, Maria Ohisalo. Credit: Foreigner.fi
Snna Marin. Credit: Yle
In December 2019, 34-year old Sanna Marin became the world’s youngest sitting Prime-Minister, in Finland. As well as this, four of the five parties in the coalition government are led by women. Political Science professor, Anne Holi, says that this isn’t surprising because there has been a strong representation of women in politics in the country for decades. In February 2020 Finland’s women-led government introduced equal paid family leave for parents – 7 months for each parent, with the pregnant parent also able to receive one month of pregnancy allowance on top of that. This new policy will allow for more equality among parents.
On the centenary of the country’s independence in 2017, Finland was ranked the second most socially progressive country in the world as well as the safest and most stable. It was the third most gender equal country in the world in 2017 and has the cleanest air in the world. Finland is the second-best country in which to be a girl, and in 2015 Finland’s mother’s and children’s’ wellbeing was the second best in the world.
Katrin Jakobsdottir, Iceland
Katrin Jakobsdottir. Credit: WHO/Europe
At just 43, Katrin Jakobsdottir is one of the youngest women to lead a European country. Jakobsdottir is regarded as honest by the citizens of Iceland, and she was voted the most trusted politician in the country in 2016. In 2019 Iceland was ranked the best country in which to be a woman and this has been helped by Jakobsdottir’s government introducing the world’s strongest equal-pay legislation. As one of the only government heads of an environmentalist party, her government are also following an ambitious plan, launched in September 2019, which sees a fully funded 34-step plan to cut emissions by 40% by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2040 – 10 years before the target set for continental Europe.
Good leadership is built on personal power, commitment, collaboration and connection, and a progressive leadership today is all about inclusivity, combating climate change and social reform. The governance portrayed by the leaders above is just a sample of how progressive leadership can achieve gender and employment equality and much more, to bring a country’s people forward into the future.
Sources:
New Zealand
Ainge Roy, Julia, ‘Jacinda Ardern makes history with baby Neve at UN general assembly,’The Guardian, online at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/25/jacinda-ardern-makes-history-with-baby-neve-at-un-general-assembly [accessed 12 Feb 2020].
McCrickard, Josie, ‘13 reasons why NZ is the most progressive country in the world,’ Stuff, online at: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/95787199/13-reasons-why-nz-is-the-most-progressive-country-in-the-world [accessed 13 Feb 2020].
Finland
Wamsley, Laurel, ‘Finland's Women-Led Government Has Equalized Family Leave: 7 Months For Each Parent,’ npr, online at: https://www.npr.org/2020/02/05/803051237/finlands-women-led-government-has-equalized-family-leave-7-months-for-each-paren?fbclid=IwAR2ZZsA3jXhtiG8m5j3qcyZlxZY-mbuGAMqUlXhTCniQQTb8Ji1SWtkk2yc&t=1581033241382
Henley, Jon, ‘Safe, happy and free: does Finland have all the answers?,’ The Guardian, online at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/12/safe-happy-and-free-does-finland-have-all-the-answers
Statistics Finland, online at: http://www.stat.fi/tup/satavuotias-suomi/suomi-maailman-karjessa_en.html [accessed 12 Feb. 2020].
Iceland
Nugent, Ciara, ‘Iceland's Prime Minister Talks Climate Change and Gender Equality Over Ice Cream,’ TIME, online at: https://time.com/5634790/iceland-prime-minister-climate-change-interview/
Sweden
Omatayo, Joseph, ‘Swedish politicians have no official cars, offices, titles, use public trains,’ Legit, online at: https://www.legit.ng/1241309-swedish-politicians-official-cars-offices-titles-public-trains.html?fbclid=IwAR2ygY-lt-XY_E5JcUmFxTWRtaVDKhqdvu3hX5isVV7nsAFVfu-kj5452v8