Across Women's Lives

The day Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern imposed a strict nationwide lockdown in March, no one in New Zealand had died from the coronavirus. Compare that to the United Kingdon: 335 people had already died by the time Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered the British public to stay home. Like many world leaders, Ardern held daily press conferences where she appealed to New Zealanders to unite in their battle against the virus. “We are all in this together,” she told them. Ardern streamed Facebook live videos from her sofa at home, apologizing for her casual attire. Now, New Zealand is “halfway down Everest,” Ardern said last week as she announced measures to ease New Zealand’s lockdown. Related: Rohingya women are traditionally kept out of leadership roles. Will the coronavirus change that? Her “go hard and go early” strategy combined with a warm empathetic manner worked. New Zealand recorded zero new cases of the coronavirus in a series of days last week and Ardern’s popularity rating is at an all-time high. But