Persuasive Strategies in Jacinda Ardern's Speeches: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Women Leadership in Crisis

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21093/ijeltal.v10i1.1950

Keywords:

Critical Discourse Analysis, women’s language, leadership, persuasive strategies, crisis communication

Abstract

Traditional views of leadership often associate strong leadership with directness, decisiveness, and dominance, which are stereotypically coded as masculine while perceiving empathy and collaborative orientation–qualities commonly associated with femininity–as less compatible with effective leadership. However, contemporary research demonstrates the increasing importance of empathy in effective leadership, particularly during crisis situations. This study explores the persuasive strategies employed by New Zealand’s former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in her speeches following the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings. Using a qualitative descriptive approach, this study applies discourse analysis to six transcripts of speeches by Jacinda Ardern to identify discourse patterns that demonstrate her persuasive strategies and examined how these patterns function in crisis communication. The findings revealed three critical elements of Ardern’s persuasive strategies: combining transparency and compassion to foster trust, demonstrating clarity and decisiveness to establish authority, and using motivational and forward-looking discourse to inspire collective action. These elements demonstrate how Ardern’s empathetic communication helped build trust and encourage compliance, while her directive and decisive language facilitated actionable resolution, which enabled the nation’s swift recovery. By critically challenging persistent gender stereotypes in leadership that frame empathy and decisiveness as mutually exclusive traits, this study underscores the transformative potential of empathetic leadership in managing crise and advances gender equity in leadership discourse. 

Author Biographies

  • Delita Sartika, Jambi University
    Delita Sartika is a senior lecturer in English Department of Universitas Jambi. She holds a Ph.D in Literature and Cultural Studies from Monash University, Australia. Her research interest is on literature and language with particular connection to women's studies.
  • Lilik Ulfiati, Jambi University
    Lilik Ulfiati is a senior lecturer in English Department of Universitas Jambi. She holds a Master's Degree in English Language Teaching from Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia. She is currently doing a doctoral study in English Language Teaching at Universitas Jambi. Her research interest is on English Language Teaching.
  • Hidayati Hidayati, Jambi University
    Hidayati Hidayati is a lecturer in English Department of Universitas Jambi. She holds a Master's Degree in English Language Teaching from Universitas Negeri Padang, Indonesia. She is currently doing a doctoral study in English Language Teaching at Universitas Jambi. Her research interest is on Teacher's Professional Development.

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Published

2025-05-01

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 1 (2025): Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics

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Articles