You decide. Are women leaders – admittedly of smaller size countries than United States – doing a notable job of leadership in the Covid-19 crisis? In Germany, Taiwan, New Zealand, Iceland, Finland, Norway, and Denmark, women are wielding power with boldness and innovation during this unprecedented time of crisis as we grapple with Covid-19. Their values are truth, decisiveness, action, and caring.

ANGELA MERKEL, Chancellor of Germany, stood up early and calmly told her countrymen the truth – that corona virus is serious and would infect up to 70% of the population. “It’s serious,” she said, “take it seriously.” She did – so they did too. Testing began immediately. Germany jumped right over the phases of denial, anger and rebellion. The country’s infection numbers are far below its European neighbors.

TSAI ING-WEN, President of Taiwan, at the first sign of this new illness, was among the first, most decisive leaders to address it. Learning lessons from the 2003 SARS outbreak, in January she introduced 124 measures to block the spread, without resorting to the lock downs that became common elsewhere. Her message was clear. “Covid-19 will not stop until we put a stop to it. The time to work together is now.” Ing-wen managed to keep the epidemic under control, reporting only six deaths. Now she is sending 10 million face masks to the US and Europe.

JACINDA ARDERN, Prime Minister of New Zealand, was early to invoke lock down, crystal clear on the maximum level of alert she was putting the country under – and why. She imposed self-isolation on people entering New Zealand early, when there were just 6 cases in the whole country. She banned foreigners from entering soon after. Clarity and decisive action is saving New Zealand from the storm. As of mid-April they suffered only four deaths, and where other countries talk of lifting restrictions, Ardern is adding them, making all returning New Zealanders quarantine in designated locations for 14 days.

KATRÍN JAKOBSDÓTTIR, Prime Minister of Iceland, is offering free corona virus testing to all of Iceland’s citizens and they will be a case study in the true spread and fatality rates of Covid-19. Most other countries limit testing to people with active symptoms. In proportion to its population the country has screened five times as many people as South Korea and instituted a thorough tracking system. As a result, they haven’t had to close schools.

SANNA MARIN, Prime Minister of Finland, became the world’s youngest head of state when she was elected last December. It took a millennial leader to spearhead social media influencers as key agents in battling the corona virus crisis. Recognizing that not everyone reads the press, Finland invites influencers of all ages to spread fact-based information to manage the pandemic. “When we get students with high numbers of followers to post information, it has an important impact.”

ERNA SOLBERG, Norway’s Prime Minister, had the innovative idea of using television to talk directly to her country’s children. Building on the 3-minute press conference that Danish Prime Minister METTE FREDERIKSEN held a couple of days earlier, Solberg held a dedicated press conference where no adults were allowed. She responded to kids’ questions from across the country, taking time to explain why it was okay to feel scared.

These women leaders are showing us their way to wield power. Their transparency, accountability, and compassion is inspiring. A little applause please!

Sources: weforum.org, Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, forbes.com, cnn.com, time.com