World leaders make the biggest impacting decisions of all leaders, and they overwhelmingly tend to be men. The glass ceiling is an unseen barrier that prevents women from moving upwards into top leadership positions, (Northouse, 2016, p. 399). Even though women make up about half of working people, a mere 18.7% of the seats in the U.S. Congress are held by women, (Northouse, 2016, p. 398), and only 24.5% of the members of parliament around the globe are women, (IPU Parline, 2020, p. 3). The journey to the top has been described as a leadership labyrinth, full of obstacles at every turning point, (Northouse, 2016, p. 399), but some women have mastered the ability to navigate it. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is one of those women, and she has become one of the world’s most respected leaders, (Pazzanese, 2019, p. 4). She faced challenges associated with all three gender-gap explanations; investments in human capital, gender differences, and prejudice, (Northouse, 2016, p. 399). In her own leadership labyrinth, she faced those challenges, and crushed them with finesse.
Angela Merkel began developing and investing in her own human capital at the age of 17, when she began to further her education, (Pazzanese, 2019, p. 29). The pipeline problem, or shortage of qualified women, is less due to a shortage, and more due to a leak in the pipe that women are in, (Northouse, 2016, p. 399). It turns out that there is very little evidence to suggest that women are less educated than men, however, they may have less work experience, (Northouse, 2016, p. 401). Merkel had no lack of education or work history, obtaining a doctorate in quantum chemistry, (Pazzanese, 2019, p. 5), then diving into her political career shortly after at the age of 35, (Pazzanese, 2019, p. 17). Merkel is able to define herself as a very qualified woman whose education and work not only helped her escape the leaking pipeline that so many women may slip through, but who was made better because of it. Her success, competence, rationality, and reliability have helped her not only hold her position of power and leadership, but helped her become a widely respected person, regardless of her gender, (Pazzanese, 2019, p. 35).
There are a number of gender differences that naturally come into play in a woman’s climb to leadership; whether it be their perceived effectiveness, or general gender biases, Angela Merkel maneuvered over this playing field like a master. Combining individualized consideration with great motivation seems to be necessary for women going into leadership positions, (Northouse, 2016, p. 408). Merkel combines these concepts well. She uses individualized consideration in every single obstacle by analyzing each one, waiting for a strategic moment, and then making a deliberate move. This has prompted a new verb in the German language in her honor: “to Merkeln,” (Pazzanese, 2019, p. 32). She combines this with motivation be cause she has always been a completely authentic leader, never changing her strong values and fighting for her country and her people as an analytical and fierce politician, (Pazzanese, 2019, p. 8). As for gender biases that create greater social costs for women who self-promote or negotiate, (Northouse, 2016, p. 403), she never gives them a thought. She doesn’t promote herself or talk about herself, rather using her media platform for more political reasons, (Pazzanese, 2019, p. 14). She also doesn’t give in to powerful male politicians; she waits patiently until they are done, and then she makes her decisive statement which leads to them realizing they have hugely underestimated her, (Pazzanese, 2019, p. 14).
Gender prejudices come from stereotypical expectations. These expectations are based on the idea that “women take care and men take charge,” (Northouse, 2016, p. 404). Angela Merkel would have none of that nonsense. She leads with the concept of looking at possibilities rather than the obstacles, and by doing this she was able to shape situations in a way that allowed her handle them, (Pazzanese, 2019, p. 26). She didn’t shy away from decision making, change her stances, or bend herself to other’s expectations of her based on her gender. In doing so she maneuvered around the many traps she encountered and kept her head down, looking only at possibilities, (Pazzanese, 2019, p. 19). She never showed vulnerability, only utter self-confidence, (Pazzanese, 2019, p. 33), which goes along with the research in that she responded to gender based leadership by going against expected gender behaviors, (Northouse, 2016, p. 406).
Angela Merkel seems to intuitively understand what it takes to close the gender gap in leadership positions. Her investments in her own human capital, understanding of gender differences, and refusal to be treated with prejudice allowed her to rise to the top of the leadership ladder, becoming the leader of the West, (Pazzanese, 2019). The answer to the question, “can women lead?” (Northouse, 2016, p. 397), is a resounding, Yes, they can! Merkle’s personal perspective requires nothing less than believing in impossibilities, (Pazzanese, 2019, p. 26), and that includes women leaders. She herself is one of the longest reining female leaders (second only to British Prime Minister Maggie Thatcher). She leads as a feminist by example, and in doing so, perpetuates the notion of competent and confident female leaders by choosing her would-be successor for 2021 as being Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer: a woman, (Pazzanese, 2019, pp. 49-50). Leadership roles have begun to lean in a more androgynous direction, (Northouse, 2016, p. 408), which aligns with Merkel’s belief that competence, skill, and wherewithal, regardless of who you are, should be what sets you ahead of others, (Pazzanese, 2019, p. 50).
References
IPU Parline. (2020, June). Global and regional averages of women in national parliaments. Retrieved from IPU Parline: Global Data on National Parliaments: https://data.ipu.org/women-averages?month=6&year=2020&op=Show+averages&form_build_id=form-PEJwDcT5k6zxgBTv8I_7gLR-xOlrCwG0vYVZLENhtxo&form_id=ipu__women_averages_filter_form
Northouse, P. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice, Seventh Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Pazzanese, C. (2019, May 28). Angela Merkel, the scientist who became a world leader. Retrieved from The Harvard Gazette: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/05/those-who-have-known-angela-merkel-describe-her-rise-to-prominence/