There are choices that make more noise than others. Choices that give voice and life to the many data and statistics, which no longer impress us. A premier who resigns. Then a second. And finally a top manager. All in a couple of weeks at the beginning of 2023.
Jacinda Arden, 43, prime minister of New Zealand for five years; Nicola Sturgeon, 52, Scotland’s prime minister for eight years; Susan Wojcicki, 54, CEO of Youtube for nine years. Three decisions that questioned the concept of power.
“I am human. We give all we can for as long as we can and then the time comes. And for me that moment has come. I just don’t have the energy for another four years,” Arden explained. Sturgeon echoes her from this part of the world: «The time to leave is now» and underlines that the question he answered with his resignation is: «Can I give this job all the energy it needs in the way Have I committed every day for the past eight years?”
For both, as for Susan Wojcicki, the choice was in favor of his own life: «Today, after almost 25 years, I have decided to leave my position at the head of YouTube and to start a new chapter focused on my family, health and personal projects» wrote the top manager, with a fortune of 500 Millions of dollars. For her part, Arden at the end of the press conference had turned to her daughter: “Mum will be next to you when you start school this year.” And then to his companion Clarke Gayford: «And now let’s get married».
It takes courage, it takes awareness, it takes self love. Above all, it takes freedom from power to decide to leave at the pinnacle. But if these choices make noise, there are more silent and numerous choices that swell the statistics every day. It is enough to read the headlines of international newspapers to realize that it is not just an Italian phenomenon: “Women forced to ‘choose’ self-employment” (BBC); “Why women quit” (Forbes); “Don’t blame the kids: Survey reveals most women leave big companies for culture, not family” (Reuters).