Pathway to gender equality- the "luxury of choice"

“Feminism isn’t about making women stronger. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength…” G.D. Anderson

Motivation

I was brought up to believe that I could be and do anything. It was only when I was in my late 20s, (yes, late 2nd decade of life) that I first heard the notion that I couldn't do something, because I was a woman.  I was working in government and leading a team in rural Kenya. I was proposing certain development initiatives with members of my team and the public. A gentleman stood and raised his hand to say that I couldn't do it. And when I looked baffled and asked why, he responded rather matter of fact-ly, “because you're a woman”.

I spent the whole evening, reflecting on the fact that someone would believe I couldn't do something because of my gender. Of course I knew that to be absolute hogwash, but I realized that not everyone gets to know that they can, they have options and power of choice.

I am very aware that, even within my own context, a significant number of women, especially young women, lack what I call the “luxury of choice”. They are told exactly what they can and cannot be or do, how they need to behave and show up in the world. As I had and continue to enjoy that “luxury of choice”, I have the responsibility to increase the visibility of and opportunities for girls and women, to live to their fullest potential.  I exercise that responsibility through my ‘Pathway to Parity” programme.  

Background

As we reap the benefits of affirmative action in girl’s education, we now encounter an abundance of educated and qualified women in the workplace. Unfortunately, few of these women make it to the top of institutional leadership.

Women continue to be underrepresented in all spheres of leadership, globally and in Africa. Only 26 female CEO’s led Fortune 500 companies in 2015, while only 5% of CEOs in Africa are women. It shouldn’t be surprising that there still exists patriarchal policies in place, given < 24% of parliamentarians globally and regionally are women. In fact, it would take 140 years to achieve gender parity in Africa.

Despite several efforts focusing on workplace diversity, especially at leadership levels, the success stories seem sub-optimal and far in between. More needs to be done to address the root causes of this under-representation rather than just a symptomatic approach.

 Making the case

 The evidence speaks loud and clear on parity and diversity;

·       We can add US$12 -US$28 Trillion to global GDP by 2025 if we bridge the gender gap in the workforce

·       Africa could add US$316 Billion or ~10% to it’s GDP by 2025

·       Companies with more senior women are more profitable- by as much as 20%

·       Inclusive companies are 1.7 times more likely to be innovation leaders in the market

·       Diverse teams outperform individual decision makers up to 87% of the time

I have a few theories on why we continue to make sub-optimal gains.

My theories on gender-based leadership barriers are based on personal, professional, coaching experiences, and supported by research (see sources below). Despite best strategic efforts at the workplace, culture and dynamics are eating these strategies for breakfast. In particular;

? Individual dynamics: women are more conscious to communicate openly, given misconceptions on tonal variations, choice of words, expressing “too much emotion” etc.  In addition, women deliberately opting out of opportunities is compounded by limiting beliefs instilled in childhood and ongoing life-work integration challenges

? Organizational culture dynamics: patriarchal workplace culture, gate keeping (male as well as queen bee effect) and insufficient support for women advancement (through mentoring, coaching and sponsorship) can be a limiting factor

? Societal socio-cultural dynamics: Constraints on women’s voices and choices, gender stereotypes, leadership perceptions and increased unfavourable scrutiny of women leaders is prevalent

Most current gender-based leadership development programmes focus on 1 or 2 of the above dynamics. My goal is to co-implement a programme that provides end to end support, across the dynamics, as best as feasible.

My blueprint of action

I designed my Pathway to Parity programme to address the 3 levels of dynamics. My 3 broad intervention areas are supported by various activities;

·       Building the pipeline: This intervention aims at creating awareness and fanning the flame of leadership in young ladies (adolescent years) to counter the limiting beliefs being co-currently instilled by others. This approach operates on the simple principle of “more females in, increases the chances of more out” of the “leadership funnel”. This intervention addresses the quantity of women willing to be leaders, from a young age. This includes holding leadership camps, role modelling and other interventions

·       Equipping the high potential women: This intervention focuses on ensuring that women are adequately prepared to take up leadership roles, by growing the skills and resilience necessary to succeed. This intervention addresses the quality of women in leadership roles. The activities here revolve around leadership development programmes, coaching, mentorship, networks and other interventions

·       Creating the spaces: This intervention focuses on creating a conducive environment for women to access and thrive in leadership roles. The spaces created are both physical spaces (“a seat at the table”) as well as psychological spaces (“shifting mindsets, organizational cultures e.t.c”). This intervention addresses the opportunities for women in leadership. The activities here revolve around sponsorship, champions, addressing toxic workplace culture such as patriarchal cultures or sexual harassment

Goal

To increase access to the “luxury of choices”, narrow the gender parity gap and support society/ organizations reap the benefits of diversity in all it’s forms

 Progress update

I have began implementation and continue to spend any opportunity and free moment I have (nights, weekends, holidays, Nairobi traffic) to advancing my ambitious plan.

I am unwilling and cannot afford to wait 140 years for gender parity: can you?

As a highlight, some interventions thus far include;

Building the pipeline:

·       1 day self leadership workshop for 60 young ladies from 11 schools across East Africa during the Wasichana wa Afrika Summit (The Girls of Africa Summit) for Akili Dada

·       1 day self leadership workshop for 25 young ladies from the Young Changemakers Programme in Lukenya and 10 young ladies in Nairobi, during the External Leadership Academy whose theme was “To find for yourself, think for yourself”, for Akili Dada

Equipping the high potential women:

·       A capability building curriculum has been drafted and syndicated with several stakeholders. Collaborators for deployment are being explored

Creating the spaces:

·       Advocacy aimed at 12 top male CEOs, who are part of the Amalgam Leadership programme, on the benefits of workplace diversity and their role in deliberately creating spaces for women and young people, for profitable and sustainable growth

On this International Women’s Day, let us all play our part in making the world a more equitable place, so that all people can have the “luxury of choice”.

“We should all be feminists!” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

SOURCES: Where are the women in global leadership? World Economic Forum 2015; Women Matter Africa, McKinsey & Company, August 2016; Making the invisible visible, Amy Diehl and Leanne Dzubinsk; The Power of Parity: McKinsey Global Institute; Culture eats strategy for breakfast, Peter Drucker; The Power of Parity – Advancing women’s equality in Africa, McKinsey Global Institute, November 2019; She Persisted – Women, Politics and Power in the new media world, Lucina Di Meco, 2019