Online abuse of women leaders: Don’t scroll on by

Opinion: “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me” was what I was taught when the mean girls were at it again in the playground. That may work to brush off schoolyard taunts, but the avalanche of online hatred directed at female leaders is not so easy to counter. National Party deputy leader and Finance Minister Nicola Willis shared some of the “spicy” abuse she received which included threats of violence and criticisms of her parenting. She called for people to join her in “belittling the trolls”, told her harassers to “stuff off” and announced that officials were working on a toolkit for workplaces supporting women in leadership positions.