Politics
- There would be "significant improvement across the board on just about everything" if the every country in the world was run by women, according to former President Barack Obama.
- Speaking at a private event on leadership in Singapore, Obama said women are "indisputably better" at leadership than men.
- Obama also said that he does not plan to step back into political leadership, suggesting "old men' too often get in the way of progress.
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Former President Barack Obama on Monday said women aren't perfect but are "indisputably better" as leaders than men, BBC News reported.
Speaking at a private event on leadership in Singapore, Obama said: "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 former president added, "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."
Obama, 58, also signaled he's not interested in getting back into political leadership now that he's out of the White House, suggesting that "old men" too often get in the way of progress.
"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," Obama said. "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."
Since Obama's presidency ended, he has generally avoided discussing politics in public, only occasionally offering his views. Though President Donald Trump and Obama have long had a contentious relationship, the former president has rarely spoken about his successor and avoids mentioning him by name in speeches.