At this point, it is a well-documented and much written about phenomenon: countries with women leaders have been far more successful in their handling of the Coronavirus. The New York Times, The Guardian, and Forbes – to name a few – have all written on the subject, detailing the triumphs of New Zealand’s Jacinda Arden, Germany’s Angela Merkel, Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen, Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen, and Finland’s Sanna Marin.
And there’s imperial evidence to support the hypothesis. A review of 194 countries by the Centre for Economic Policy Research and the World Economic Forum found that countries led by women consistently had fewer Coronavirus deaths; on average, half as many deaths.
While Canada’s federal government is not helmed by a woman (alas, if only we had Jacinda Arden as our Prime Minister), there is still a striking number of women intimately involved in the Canadian COVID-19 response in their roles as chief medical officers.
Of the 13 provincial and territorial chief medical officers, seven are women. There is also Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief medical officer as well as the chief medical officers of several major cities including Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal.
These women have been at the forefront of Canada’s pandemic response, advising the municipal, provincial, and federal government, comforting citizens, and answering a deluge of questions at daily press briefings, all in the face of said pandemic. It would be an understatement to call the job demanding and yet these women have more than risen to the challenge. So who are the women leading Canada’s Coronavirus response?
- Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada
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There is, of course, Dr. Theresa Tam, who serves as the Chief Medical Officer for the country. Her areas of expertise include immunization, infectious disease, emergency preparedness, and global health security. Dr. Tam helped lead Canada’s response to the SARS outbreak, H1H1, and Ebola. She has also served on a number of World Health Organization committees and advised on responses to pandemic influenza and polio eradication. Dr. Tam’s almost daily press briefings have been an integral source of information for many Canadians navigating life with COVID-19.
- Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto
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Dr. Eileen de Villa is Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health and has quickly become a symbol of leadership and guidance for Torontonians. Some of the adoration is comedic – there’s the Twitter account Dr. de Villa’s Scarf, which is dedicated to the many wonderful scarves she wears during COVID-19 updates (my personal favourite is Eileen and the amazing technicolour neckscarf, shown above). But there is a genuine appreciation for her caring yet direct updates. In a 2017 profile in the Toronto Star when Dr. de Villa assumed her role, she was described by a city councilor as knowing, “Toronto backwards and forwards, knows and understands the city’s diversity, knows and understands the social inequality issues.”
- Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa
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Dr. Vera Etches, the Medical Officer of Health for Ottawa, has earned glowing praise and admiration from the Ottawans. She is known for her personable and frank updates and being honest about her own struggles as we all try to make sense of life with COVID-19. At the start of September she tweeted that in her rush to get out the door, she had forgotten to put on her skirt, and quipped that it might be time for a break. The replies were overwhelmingly positive, appreciating her honesty and encouraging her for the excellent work she has done so far. Mayor Jim Watson said Dr. Etches, “deserves praise for a job very well done.”
- Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, Newfoundland and Labrador
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Dr. Janice Fitzgerald is the Chief Medical Officer for Newfoundland and Labrador, a province which has been hailed for its incredibly low numbers of Coronavirus cases but also scrutinized for the incredibly strict measures taken to slow the spread of the virus. She has consistently reminded Newfoundlanders that it is okay to be scared and frustrated, however, they must continue to remain vigilant. When the pandemic began, she was in the position of Chief Medical Officer in an interim capacity, however, she has agreed to stay in the role, and Premier Dwight Ball said there was overwhelming support for her to remain on.
Other women leading the virus response include Dr. Patricia Daly, Vancouver; Dr. Marie-Josée Drouin, Montreal; Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick; Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia; Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta; Dr. Susan Shaw, Saskatchewan; Dr. Heather Morrison, Prince Edward Island; and Dr. Kami Kandola, Northwest Territories.