25 November 2020– Asia Society Philippines and Manila House hosted a webinar, “Ambassadors’ Hour: On Women’s Leadership vs. COVID-19” in further exploring the experiences of the countries with female leaders managed the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The webinar featured, Ambassador Anke Reiffenstuel of the German Embassy, Ambassador Peter Kell of the New Zealand Embassy, and Ambassador Delia Albert, former Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Asia Society Philippines Advisor. With a pre-recorded video by Ambassador Michael Hsu from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office on Taiwan’s experience in dealing with the pandemic.

An analysis of published by the Centre for Economic Policy Research and the World Economic Forum earlier this year, shared a most compelling observation that female-led countries seem to stand out with their strategies and relative success in confronting the pandemic and the socioeconomic disruptions it has caused. 

Asia Society and Manila House further explored this by talking to the representatives of Germany, New Zealand, and Taiwan on their experience. How did these female leaders successfully dealt with the pandemic that saw major disruptions around the world? And how are their policies and strategies differed from those of their male counterparts? Did their gender matter?

Watch the whole webinar below: