--- title: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Says the World Needs More Women Leaders | TIME description: Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first female head of state on the African continent, thinks women “absolutely” make better leaders. “If we had more women in power, we would see faster dialogue and action,” she said during the inaugural TIME100 Africa Summit in Rwanda’s capital Kigali on Friday. canonical: https://time.com/video/zHZ7JMq7/ og:title: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Says the World Needs More Women Leaders og:description: Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first female head of state on the African continent, thinks women “absolutely” make better leaders. “If we had more women in power, we would see faster dialogue and action,” she said during the inaugural TIME100 Africa Summit in Rwanda’s capital Kigali on Friday. og:url: https://time.com/video/zHZ7JMq7/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/zHZ7JMq7/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Says the World Needs More Women Leaders twitter:description: Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first female head of state on the African continent, thinks women “absolutely” make better leaders. “If we had more women in power, we would see faster dialogue and action,” she said during the inaugural TIME100 Africa Summit in Rwanda’s capital Kigali on Friday. twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/zHZ7JMq7/poster.jpg?width=720 --- * World # Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Says the World Needs More Women Leaders > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Says the World Needs More Women Leaders [Watch (HLS stream): Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Says the World Needs More Women Leaders](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zHZ7JMq7.m3u8) (12:02)  _Published 2023-11-17. Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first female head of state on the African continent, thinks women “absolutely” make better leaders. “If we had more women in power, we would see faster dialogue and action,” she said during the inaugural TIME100 Africa Summit in Rwanda’s capital Kigali on Friday._ --- Jan 8, 2024 4:16 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [How Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Became An Icon For African Women](/video/RIn2Bk4r/) ### How Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Became An Icon For African Women [Ellen Johnson Sirleaf I TIME100 Talks Health Summit](/video/CM78iLBr/) ### Ellen Johnson Sirleaf I TIME100 Talks Health Summit [10 Questions for Ellen Johnson Sirleaf](/video/XqZHMrEl/) ### 10 Questions for Ellen Johnson Sirleaf --- ## Transcript Your presidency Martha. Of optimism and hope for Liberia Looking Back Now. What do you consider to be your most significant achievement and the Legacy that you've left for the country at two decades conflict. violence against women and children I've been locking of Civil Society in promotion of the democratic space. And the only way I could have carried out my two terms. What's 2? preach engage encourage peace. That was my legacy. Important Legacy with piece that pretty powerful considering what you went through. Leadership during the Ebola crisis took place during your leadership and your actions are widely praised. Can you describe some of the key decisions and actions that contributed to your successful containment of the pandemic and what lessons can be applied to the covid-19 in the future? I want to start with ebola cuz that's where you started. Ebola versus for us a strange disease that we know how to confront. It started in the northeast of our country, but very quickly because both of us are free came into the capital city. And I first response was one of militancy stop the people from moving across but that didn't work because you people were hurt one person even so quickly. The decision was to make sure we do something about it that we put the the identification of the problem the symptoms of the problem in the hands of communities, and that's how we been began to see community health workers as being so vital in the roll. the other thing that I was faced with worse because people would die but we have some of those citizens who have a burial system that placed a lot of attention on how they prepared the dead and how they bury the dead. The result was that so many people were being exposed not properly buried and I think this was the hardest decision of mine. What's to give the order for cremation? We saved thousands of lives by doing that but it wasn't easy because the Christian Christian citizens protested people who had families that had been victimized and died cried and protest it, but it had to be done. And I think the final one was. to get people to accept the fact That we had to do what we had to do communication with a people so that Civil Society could appreciate why we had to do the things we did how we wish to travel in places how we were to protect our nurses and doctors because they were dying. So we had to go into places and put herself In Harm's Way to give confidence to our nurses and doctors. But I'm so glad although we lost. over 5000 people that we were able to confront this disease and to be able to win it and because of that covid-19 for us. What's not as difficult all community health workers now do the symptoms of infectious diseases? And go do something about it. They now knew how to do Primary Response to people as they waited for healthcare professionals. Let me see one thing on Ebola. I want to say that the African Union has been so great. Any border they came to our rescue partnership also European countries the United States of America that partnership was fito and it helped us in covid-19 today. I'm a big advocate. For supporting health care workers at my African Union has taking up this charge. Does that work? No. It's true that major Crossings. From particularly among the three affected countries Liberia Sierra Leone cooking for making sure that we have security Personnel, you know to to manage the crossing work closing borders never really work, you know how people move across borders at will and we're so interconnected. Anyway, you know, it cross religion on that cross language and all of that. So the biggest thing I think is communication. Communicating to people so they don't why have regulations why you have to impose certain discipline and I think if you if you say it with with with honesty. And a bit sometimes when you wrong, but you know, but it didn't say we had to go to the people and say sorry this we should not have done and we have changed it and I I think I'll people is what people were very pleased with how we manage the process. A little bit of humility is important for leadership. Absolutely. As the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing Africa today and how can your experience and Leadership helped contribute to those opportunities and make them stronger? Sad to say this. But the most important issue for leadership today. Is the fragmentation? among the global powers of the world oh that has affected multilateralism and the effectiveness that comes from that it has affected Global cooperation, and he has defended the action. I'm response to where we now have was so I think that's the most important one. I always say though and have to say that an important impediments to progress the promotion of women. Ensuring that they have the leadership to be able to put in place the policies that were first of all counter the victimization of women through violence. But more importantly the leadership of women in places where they are going to save God, you know, the rights of society Safeguard the rights of women and children. How does that fit into the the fragmentation that you've been talking about and worsening conflict across the world? What are the priorities what will bring us together to help us where some of the the fall of the Fallout of these, we have to see. the major powers of the world see a changing Global situation see the prints to life through climate change through artificial intelligence and all of that. To see how it has affected. most of the least developed countries of the world as a recognized that their interaction of the world of countries across the world that are no borders that can stop people moving across. Interaction through financial operations through hell for operations diseases travel across borders as we found out with covid-19. And so I think we need to see the palace who are represented in what is called a G7 group and a G20 group. Have to now take up this challenge of bringing back the kind of international order that we knew in the past decade or so so that we can express these Global threats that have not been known that if we do not do it. The entire world is at stake. In terms of being able to achieve. economic goals that have been set being able to ensure that people have a right to participation in things. Going back in those who have been. the least developed those who have been marginalized can also feel ownership in global action to address the world's problems and make sure that we did not have full prosperity for all but that should ensure that these people have a right to achieve their goals and that they're not deny the opportunities for this. The more listening less shouting absolutely your post political rule leaders. Absolutely. Don't want to call names, but I think if we look around. You know, and that's my sister. That's not just in the Africa. But also if you look around in Europe around you see that Women because women rule a little bit differently. First of all women women have equality in every way in Norwich and education. What what women bring in a bit of empathy to mediate if I think if we had more women right now in the major Powers, you will see faster action in trying to promote dialogue and mediation rather than the pictures of War. I'll vote for that President sirleaf. I want to thank you for being here. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Says the World Needs More Women Leaders","description":"Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first female head of state on the African continent, thinks women “absolutely” make better leaders.\n\n“If we had more women in power, we would see faster dialogue and action,” she said during the inaugural TIME100 Africa Summit in Rwanda’s capital Kigali on Friday.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/zHZ7JMq7/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2023-11-17T17:40:57.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zHZ7JMq7.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/video/zHZ7JMq7/","duration":"PT12M2S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/video/zHZ7JMq7/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}} ```