Finally, women are beating men at their own game

Now that two of the world's five biggest economies – Germany and Britain – are headed by women, and the biggest, the US, has a woman front runner in its presidential election, the glass ceiling in politics can probably be declared broken, and it's time to consider what kind of change this brings to the world.

The overall statistics of female leadership do not look particularly encouraging. There are fewer women heads of government today than there were last year. Not even 5 per cent of government leaders are women. Yet they are winning where it matters. If there were a way to weight women's influence by the might of the countries they run, the US, Germany and Britain would swing the balance in their favour.

It's infinitely harder for women to break through to the top in big, fiercely competitive democracies than in smaller countries like the Nordics and the Baltic states, which have provided most female government leaders in recent years. And it's doubly hard for a woman to reach high office in a country with a conservative Catholic tradition like Poland – where Beata Szydlo is currently prime minister.

Adding to the collective clout of Angela Merkel, Theresa May and potentially, Hillary Clinton, some important nations that aren't run by women have women strategically placed to one day take over the leadership of governing parties or win high office as strong opposition figures.

In Britain, Prime Minister Theresa May won the position after another woman, Andrea Leadsom, dropped out of the race for the Conservative Party leadership.

In Germany, Julia Kloeckner is seen as a potential successor to Merkel, as is Ursula von der Leyen, the  defence minister.

In Portugal, Assuncao Cristas is the first woman to lead the conservative party and the face of the country's centre-right opposition.

In Spain, Soraya Saenz de Santamaria has long been Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's second in command; though she's seen as a technocrat rather than a politician, she has been indispensable to the centre-right Popular Party.

In Britain, Angela Eagle is a contender for the top post in the Labour Party, and the Scottish Nationalist Party is run by Nicola Sturgeon, who may yet preside over another Scottish bid to leave the UK.

Women, of course, have attained political heights before, but many of those were from political families or clans that were part of their countries' business elite. The current generation of leaders is different.

Merkel and May are the daughters of pastors. Clinton's father was a small businessman. Szydlo comes from a miner's family.

The most striking similarity among the current crop of women leaders is that they are mostly conservative, non-ideological and compromise-oriented.

May is a star example. She was a mild supporter of the "remain" camp but is willing to make a success of Brexit.

Merkel, Szydlo, Saenz de Santamaria, Clinton – all of them are known for being flexible, versed in the workings of political machines and skilled, common-sense negotiators.

This seems to support the (disputed) stereotype that women are more risk-averse than men. None of the current women leaders is a habitual risk-taker – Merkel surprised everyone last year when she threw Germany's doors open to refugees, but even that wasn't a political gamble but rather a moral imperative for the preacher's daughter, who has since used her formidable political skills to scale back the initial generosity.

That might explain why women have finally reached the top of the political hierarchy in some of the world's most powerful nations, but not the top positions in the world's biggest companies.

Risk is more acceptable in business, and it is often required to stay at the top. In politics, especially in these contentious times, the ability to try for consensus and settle for a compromise is a more essential skill.

Empathy and flexibility, in various combinations, are the qualities that have helped these women beat men at their own game. They haven't shown much flash or charisma, but they've been practical, resilient, patient.

These qualities are not essentially or universally feminine, of course, and nor are risk-aversion and a lack of showmanship.

The general rule, though, appears to be that women are called on to lead when division is too bitter and men are prone to turning every discussion into a contest of wills. Merkel, May and Clinton are tough women – but they prioritise getting the job done.

Washington Post