Jacinda Ardern has given the world a great lesson in humility

Here was a highly regarded—at home and on the world stage—and astute female politician leaving the top job on her own terms. The move was greeted with universal shock.

He will be missed and his decision should be respected. It underscores the challenges of achieving diversity in politics and business. It is not just a matter of getting women there, but keeping them. We want politicians like Ardern to endure because they are the kind who change the narrative.

Ardern and young women leaders – including Prime Minister Sanna Marin of Finland and Mette Frederiksen of Denmark – who have been seen as archetypes of loud, attention-grabbing and self-obsessed male leaders riding the wave of populism over the past decade have emerged. They show us that countries can be run not only by force and valor, but also by compassion and a sense of humour. You can be an accomplished politician and an empathetic person while laughing along the way.

Politics remains a difficult area for women. Australia’s first female prime minister, Julia Gillard, endured a barrage of sexist attacks in parliament and in the media, leading her to make the now famous misogyny speech in October 2012 that went viral.

Ardern’s decision to stand also suggests that women are often caught between their political ambitions and their personal lives. In 2018, she became the first female prime minister of Pakistan since the late Benazir Bhutto to give birth in office. Tanya Plibersek, then deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party, has ruled out running for the top post in 2019 because she could not “reconcile” responsibilities to her family with being leader of her party. Another Australian federal member of parliament, Kate Ellis, quit. Politics in the 2019 election to spend more time with his kids.

Recently, sentiment has turned against Ardern and she has suffered in opinion polls. He faced an increase in personal threats, which became more explicit and vicious as conspiracy and anti-vaccination groups, angered over his handling of the pandemic, went on the attack.

Ardern achieved rock-star status after becoming the world’s youngest female leader at the age of 37. She could feature on the cover of Vogue magazine and Spin Tunes, manage crises, while also listening and paying attention to other global leaders. Ardern has faced her share of outrageous questions from the media – just last month she and Finland’s Marin were forced to rebuke a journalist who suggested the two world leaders were only meeting because they were young women. Were – but have handled the situations with confidence.

He reformed gun laws in March 2019 after extremist shootings at two mosques in the South Island city of Christchurch killed 51 people.

Her compassion was demonstrated again in December 2019 when a volcano erupted off the New Zealand coast, resulting in the deaths of 22 people. The pandemic tested his mettle, but he was credited with keeping the virus at bay with one of the world’s strictest lockdowns.

Ardern’s own brand of governance was on display again when it came to New Zealand’s Indigenous population. He appointed Nanaia Mahuta, a Māori woman, to the high-profile portfolio of foreign minister, while his party vowed that the country’s schools would integrate the Māori language into their curriculum by 2025.

Ardern was not above teasing. But it is a testament to her character that she can rise above the turmoil of politics and become a good sportsperson. An officially signed copy of a transcript of Ardern insulting an opposition leader (she later apologized via text message) was sold for more than NZ$100,000 (US$64,000) to raise money for the charity.

Like former world number one tennis star Ashleigh Barty’s decision to give up tennis, I suspect that our discomfort with Ardern’s announcement stems more from our longing for role models who make everyone proud globally.

They are strong, agile, and assertive, but also display grace under pressure. Now more than ever the world needs them.

Andrea Papuk is Bloomberg Opinion Editor.