The World’s Youngest Female Leader Targets Equal Pay for Women

The first country to give women the vote has another world-leading ambition: closing the gender pay gap.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, the world’s youngest female leader, says her government aims to achieve pay equity for women in the public service within four years as a catalyst for widespread change. More than 120 years after her nation granted universal suffrage, Ardern hopes it can again be a flag-bearer for equal rights.

Jacinda Ardern

Photographer: Birgit Krippner/Bloomberg

“If New Zealand is seen as a champion of issues around gender pay gap and pay equity, I would be proud of that,” Ardern, 37, said in ...