Table 2.

Traits of women leaders, their definitions, and examples.

Elements—traits	Definition—explanation	Example
Three C’s: Considerate, Caring, Compassionate	Expressing consideration, compassion, and care toward one’s followers; empathizing	During Ardern’s Facebook live sessions, empathetic connection was reinforced through her communication style, by which she expressed concern about how the pandemic affected people individually
Humility	The quality of understanding oneself through awareness of personal roles, strengths, and limitations, as well as the self’s relationships with others; necessary attribute for successful leadership	Merkel hardly ever took credit for the incredible transformations her government initiated while she was in power, especially in the gender domain
Unity	Putting emphasis on uniting a nation; helps build trust	Ardern’s carefully picked phrasing–“Unite against COVID-19,” constant usage of “we,” “us,” “all New Zealanders,” and “a team of five million”
Diplomacy–emotional intelligence	The art of maintaining peaceful relationships and interactions between nations, groups, or individuals, especially during conflict and debates	Merkel has been known for her tendency always to listen, and to allow others to comment or suggest a position on a matter, before proceeding to formulate her opinion and voicing it
Resilience in the face of “misogynistic” personal attacks	Women leaders are often targeted for their looks, their clothing, their hair, or their personal lives–approaches that require resilience to deal with	Ardern being asked about her decision to dye her hair; Ardern being asked about the time of conception of her child