Jacinda Ardern resigned as Prime Minister of New Zealand yesterday.
London:
The BBC on Friday admitted it was wrong to write about Jacinda Ardern’s resignation as New Zealand prime minister with the headline: “Can women have it all?”
The headline since deleted was posted on Thursday on Twitter with a link to an article by BBC World, the UK broadcaster’s global newsroom.
Angry commentators contrasted it with BBC headline writers’ unbridled coverage of male politicians, including Boris Johnson, the three-time married father of seven who has since retired. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom last year.
One called it “incredibly sexist” while others accused the BBC of “naughty”.
The headline was later changed to: “Departure reveals special pressures on the Prime Minister.” The story deals with Ardern’s life as a working mother of a young child.
“We quickly realized the original title did not fit the story and changed it accordingly. We have also deleted the relevant tweet,” a BBC spokesman told AFP.
Ms Ardern, 42 – who has steered New Zealand through natural disasters, the Covid pandemic and the worst terrorist attack ever – said she was no longer “calm enough”.
While Ardern didn’t shy away from discussing the stresses of the office, she was quick to dismiss the lines of sexist questions.
In November, at a joint press conference with his Finnish counterpart Sanna Marin, a male journalist asked if they had met because they were “the same age and have a lot in common there”.
Referring to the former leaders of the US and New Zealand, Ms. Ardern asked “did anyone ever ask Barack Obama and John Key if they met because of the same age?”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the aggregate feed.)
