This past weekend in Paris, former president Barack Obama proffered his sentiment that more women should be world leaders, because “men seem to be having some problems these days.”
“Not to generalize, but women seem to have a better capacity than men do, partly because of their socialization,” Obama said at the invitation-only event called “Les Napoleons.”
While Obama didn’t name names, he did talk about “the importance of more focus on putting women in power.”
Obama was responding to a question about leadership qualities. He added that he respects leaders who are able to question themselves and others and who are able to climb to the next level of achievement from the lessons they’ve learned.
‘“How can I make the people around me better?” he said. “How do I empower them… how do I build a team where everyone’s pulling together to get something done?”
While Obama didn’t say President Donald Trump’s name directly, he took a thinly-veiled swipe at the current commander-in-chief when he mentioned that the world was experiencing a “temporary absence of American leadership” on climate change, which produced laughs inside the auditorium.
“But despite that,” Obama said, according to CNBC, “you’re seeing American companies and states and cities continuing to work on this issue.”
Obama ended his five-day international trip in Paris. He had also visited India and China before arriving in France.
In the only comments that may cause controversy, Obama said the decision-making in the European Union could be improved.
“I think for example that the European Union needs to recognize that micro-managing every single aspect of life within Europe gets people frustrated,” he said.
“So there are ways of streamlining and improving the functioning of the European Union, but the European project itself, the Union itself is something that is worth preserving,” he added.
Watch: We hosted a Town Hall in New Delhi with @BarackObama and young leaders about how to drive change and make an impact in India and around the world. #ObamaInIndia pic.twitter.com/0Oo9q39tIf
— The Obama Foundation (@ObamaFoundation) December 4, 2017
