Undergrad: Countries most affected by this coronavirus include the USA, Brazil, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy and France. The countries that are recognized as having managed the crisis best are Germany, Taiwan, New Zealand, Iceland, Finland, Norway and Denmark. Could we conclude that women leaders are more competent at handling a health crisis?
Tutor: That’s one interpretation. But the average population of those male-led countries in round figures is 130 million. The average population of the female-led countries is 20 million. It would be only 8 million if you didn’t include Germany.
Undergrad: Hmm. So generally, smaller countries manage the coronavirus crisis better?
Tutor: Perhaps. Or maybe smaller countries have political systems that facilitate female leadership more easily?
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Voice-over
It’s complicated. As we have to keep reminding people, a correlation does not necessarily mean that a change in one variable causes a change in another variable. It can, but discussion, experimentation and testing comes first.
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