Many of the top running politicians of recently leading countries are women.
The UK, with their recent “Brexit” from the EU, appointed Conservative Party Theresa May as Prime Minister on the 13th, following the resignation of David Cameron. She is the second female Prime Minister in the history of the UK after Margaret Thatcher.

In the U.S., former First Lady Hillary Clinton is running against Donald Trump in an attempt to become the first female President. It can be said that she is the closest any female has been to the Presidency.

In Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen assumed office in January as the first female President. Unlike many of Asia’s female politicians who had the advantage of lineage, such as South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Thailand’s former Prime Minister Yinglck Shinawatra, Tsai is notable for having achieved her position through her own efforts.

This trend of female Prime Ministers and Presidents is sure to grow. So this article analyzes the similarities between these successful female politicians.

1.Of the Highest Standard and Always Eager to Learn

Hillary, May and Tsai are all known to have been eager to learn from an early age. It means they studied hard. Their outstanding careers are a product of this effort.

• Hillary graduated from Yale Law School and became an attorney, and later U.S. Senator and then U.S. Secretary of State. She served as First Lady for 8 years to President Bill Clinton.
• May graduated from the University of Oxford and worked in the front line of the finance world including the Bank of England. On her third attempt she became a Member of Parliament. She is known for being able and tough. She has served important roles in the Conservative Party and the Shadow Cabinet.
• Tsai graduated from the College of Law, National Taiwan University. She received her Master of Law at Cornell University and then a Ph.D. at the London School of Economics. She became a university lecturer in her 20s but was introduced to politics for her high abilities.

For women to survive in the world of politics, they need to show great effort: the effort to master their skills and input knowledge that is second to none.

2. A Strong Conviction

Women who become the top leaders of any nation are strong.

• Hillary is much more aggressive than Barack Obama. Her military policies were supportive of the U.S. entering the war with Iraq and sending soldiers to Afghanistan. She is quite dramatic in her use of language in speeches when she promotes her policies. Despite being strong, she appears to exhibit a lack of understanding in her policies leaning towards China that could cause great problems for world security.
• Right after she assumed office, May has had to face the aftermath of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. She was originally against it, but now she is persuading the public that Brexit was the chosen conclusion. She is showing an unwavering stance towards withdrawal from the EU.
• Tsai is gathering support from her people for her strong will to protect the people of Taiwan without losing to China’s threats or resorting to provocations or compromises.

3. Strengths Unique to Women

These women not only have the power to stand on equal ground to the men in this masculine society, but they have and use strengths that are unique to women.

• Hillary talks about family in her speeches creating an impression of warmth and familiarity. When her husband, Bill Clinton, was involved in the adultery scandal during his Presidency, she showed her resilience as a wife by staying by his side to support him. This was especially highly regarded by fellow women.
• May is against Brexit, but she does not force this upon her people. Instead she is assuming an intermediary role between the opposing opinions. She thinks that tying both sides together is the key to the future of Britain, which has earned her voter support.
• Tsai advocates Taiwan’s autonomy and independence, but she never intentionally provokes China. Instead she has shown her desire to harmonize the relationship between the two countries.

What Are Strengths Unique to Female Leaders?

We cannot generalize since every individual is different, but we can largely divide successful female leaders into two kinds:

1. The Coordinator/Harmonizer
   These female leaders are able to bring together a divided organization. They use their potential as coordinators and bring many people together through their charm.
2. The Decision Maker

 
Many more women nowadays excel academically, and they therefore have high decision-making abilities. Some are even able to instinctively see through to the heart of the matter and make decisions based on that.

Men are probably unable to completely avoid matters such as social status, name, and income, but women live in a world where they cannot overestimate themselves. This may be a positive factor in inducing a passion to continue forwards.

These can be said to be strengths that women especially have.

There will be more and more female leaders from now on. Rather than accepting the status quo with men, women can use their unique strengths to generate happiness for both men and women. Men and women can then work toward creating a synergetic society.