Former Prime Minister Helen Clark has described the departure of former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern from politics as “devastating for women around the world”.
In an interview with the Herald she said women in politics need to develop strong networks to withstand abusive sexism amplified by in an age of social media.
She said the environment where Ardern and Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin exited politics was hostile to them, and those who direct that abuse should consider the impact it would have if it was aimed at the women in their lives.
The comments follow Herald’s revelations female councillors in Auckland sought out a meeting with council managers because of what has been called a “boys’ club” environment there.
The Auckland claims also included the revelation that mayor Wayne Brown had made a crass orgasm joke about a fellow councillor in front of multiple colleagues.
The Herald has also obtained and published a withheld recording of councillor Maurice Williamson sharing lewd gossip about Wellington mayor Tory Whanau.
Those revelations followed the exposure of Wellington mayoral candidate Ray Chung as having written and distributed an email in which he alleged Whanau had enjoyed a hedonistic sex-and-drugs romp she said never happened.
In 1999 Clark became the first woman to win Prime Ministerial office in a New Zealand general election, serving until 2008. Before that, she was the first woman to serve as deputy prime minister and the first to lead a major political party in New Zealand.
She went from New Zealand politics to be the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (2009-2017) and has since been appointed co-chair of the World Health Organisation’s Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response.
Clark said the nature of the abuse against women was not new but “the age of social media enables the false allegations to be magnified beyond what was possible in the past”.
Female politicians of an earlier generation, such as herself, were familiar with the nature of such abuse, Clark said.
But she said the use of automated bots and “keyboard warrior”-types attacking behind a “veil of anonymity” meant abuse and rumour on social media was amplified and found traction in a way it would not have in the past.
Clark described such behaviour as “deplorable” - she said she was concerned to read the Herald’s reporting about female politicians at Auckland Council - and believed attacks on women went far beyond what men experienced.
It was her hope, she said, people focused on the issues and what people stood for and believed in “and keep the personal stuff out of it”.
“There’s been high-profile withdrawals from politics here and elsewhere in this very pressured environment. Not only Tory Whanau but Jacinda’s withdrawal was devastating for women around the world.”
Ardern has said that the abuse directed at her was not the basis for her withdrawal from politics but acknowledged it had an impact.
The Hate & Extremism Insights Aotearoa research group at the University of Auckland found Ardern was the target of 93% of the most toxic posts aimed at seven high-profile politicians and officials in New Zealand between 2019 and 2022.
It described the level of abuse as “constant” and “incessant” with “anger and toxicity” actually increasing towards the end of 2022 as the Covid-19 era began to fade.
Clark said another high-profile loss was Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin, another young and female world leader. Marin was targeted with gendered abuse and faced such a level of unsubstantiated rumour after video of her dancing at a party that she took a voluntary drug test.
Clark said: “So people are saying well if these women can’t do it how could I? And I think we definitely need messaging that says women have to stick at it, we have to develop the skills and strength to withstand this.
“We can’t stand alone. We need networks. We need others supporting us because it is a tough environment… even though the content of what is being said hasn’t changed so much.”
To those who found joy in the impact they had on women in politics, Clark had this message: “Would you like your daughter, your sister, your wife, your mother in public life to be subjected to this?”.
She said the answer from any rational person would be “no”.
“It’s unacceptable behaviour and no one would want a female member of their family subjected to this.”
Brown and Williamson have been approached by the Herald for comment. Brown has dismissed talk of a boys’ club atmosphere at council and has not made any comment about his orgasm joke about the noise made by a councillor who stubbed his toe. Williamson has also not responded.
David Fisher is based in Northland and has worked as a journalist for more than 30 years, winning multiple journalism awards including being twice named Reporter of the Year and being selected as one of a small number of Wolfson Press Fellows to Wolfson College, Cambridge. He joined the Herald in 2004.
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