Obama: women 'indisputably' better leaders and 'old men' need to get 'out of the way'

Savannah Behrmann | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Barack Obama says women tend to be better leaders Barack Obama Says Women Should Lead All Nations. The former U.S. president made the comment at a leadership event in Singapore.

WASHINGTON –Speaking at a leadership event in Singapore on Monday, former President Barack Obama said there would be "significant improvement across the board" if countries were led by women, and that "old men" needed to get "out of the way."

"Now women, I just want you to know; you are not perfect, but what I can say pretty indisputably is that you're better than us [men]," the 44th President said, according to the BBC. "I'm absolutely confident that for two years, if every nation on Earth was run by women, you would see a significant improvement across the board on just about everything ... living standards and outcomes."

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When questioned about whether he would potentially return to political leadership, the former president clarified that he had no plans to do so, stating that "If you look at the world and look at the problems, it's usually old people, usually old men, not getting out of the way."

"It is important for political leaders to try and remind themselves that you are there to do a job, but you are not there for life, you are not there in order to prop up your own sense of self-importance or your own power," Obama continued, according to the BBC.

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Obama was traveling with his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, in the region for the Obama Foundation Leaders: Asia-Pacific program.

It was remarkable to be back in the Asia-Pacific region with my sister this week, joined by hundreds of talented and optimistic @ObamaFoundation leaders. They’re making their mark on this region—and the whole world—and that's good for all of us. pic.twitter.com/LsBwoZCliF — Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 13, 2019

Obama has made similar comments about women in leadership previously.

In 2018, just a few months before the midterm elections when a historic number of women were elected to Congress, Obama stated that he wanted "women... to get more involved," and explained that "men have been getting on my nerves lately. I mean, every day, I read the newspaper and I just think like, 'Brothers, what’s wrong with you guys? What’s wrong with us?'"

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