Interviewing female world leaders for her book co-authored with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Women and Leadership, Gillard found that the sexism experienced is global. “One of the most common was that each of the women was conscious that when voters were looking at them as women leaders, they had to steer a narrow path between being seen as strong enough to lead, but not come across as so tough that people thought them unlikeable,” she told CEO Magazine in 2020. “There was this narrow, narrow path between empathetic but also showing that you had the backbone to do the job.”

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How would Australians react if we’d seen a woman Prime Minister out partying? Part of my surprise about the reaction to Marin is that she is Finnish; Finland is a social democracy, renowned for its progressive policies around gender and equality. Surely there the response would be realistic rather than anarchic? Sadly not.

In Finnish newspapers and beyond, Marin was criticised for a lack of judgment, for being immature. Since when did dancing and having a few drinks with friends become a crime? Outgoing British PM Boris Johnson and his staff made an art of it, even while the rest of his country was under lockdown. What is an appropriate way to spend a Saturday night, anyway? Playing the ukulele to your family after dinner, perhaps.

If we are to attract young people to politics – surely a good thing – we must allow them to live their lives, whatever they look like. Hopefully one day we will mature as a society and allow our leaders to live a little. Maybe then we will see a more diverse and representative parliament?

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Do we expect to our leaders not to have private lives, even though the “private” part is very likely not? Or do we prefer that they not have a life outside politics? Marin responded to the criticism saying she was upset the footage had been leaked, even though she ultimately took a drug test to prove she had not taken anything. It came back negative, according to her government.

The breach of privacy is unfortunate but these days almost inevitable. Anything and everything seems to be recorded and when you’re a public figure – regardless of the setting – it’s unlikely to remain under wraps for long.

My favourite response to the criticism of a young woman having a night out with mates were the many videos tagged #Solidaritywith Sanna, showing women of all ages from all round the world dancing with friends, having a good time and owning what should have remained exactly that.

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