New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her Finnish counterpart Sanna Marin on Wednesday fielded a misogynistic question from a reporter. At a joint press conference, a reporter asked, “A lot of people will be wondering are you two meeting just because you’re similar in age and, you know, got a lot of common stuff there,” Reuters reported.
Ardern was quick to shoot the question down. “I wonder whether or not anyone ever asked Barack Obama and John Key if they met because they were of similar age,” she said. “We are meeting because we are prime ministers,” she went on.
“Our countries are aligned on incredibly important issues – we share a strong commitment to democratic values as the basis for open, tolerant, resilient, equal societies, and to multilateralism and a rules-based order that has underpinned global peace and prosperity since 1945,” Ardern said elaborating on New Zealand's relations with Ukraine.
Finnish PM Marin added to the answer, she expressed her concern about what is happening in Ukraine and Iran. She said they both-- Marin and Ardern wanted to stand together over equality “to make sure every woman and girl all across the world will have the same rights and the same opportunities as men”. Ardern also said, “We, of course, have a higher proportion of men in politics – it’s reality – because two women meet, it is not simply because of their gender.”
