Working towards a world that is free of bias against women in the workplace and all spheres of life

Women’s issues continue to get attention across the globe in different spheres of life. Many organisations are working to cultivate a culture and put in place policies geared towards empowering women in the day-to-day operations and relationships. While this might be the norm in some organisations, in others, some of these guiding principles are just on paper.?

The world is deliberately working to stop inequalities surrounding income, sex, age, health status, occupation, disability, sexual orientation, drug use, gender identity, race, class, ethnicity and religion.?

That’s why, as the world marks International Women’s Day today, we cannot ignore the strides that have been made over the years to ensure that work environments are fairer and safer for women.

This year’s theme #BreakTheBias seeks to celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness against bias and take action for equality. It advocates for a world that is gender equal, free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. A world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where differences are valued and celebrated.?

However, the big question is what needs to be done to ensure the workplace is fair and inclusive for all??

The past decade has seen accelerated efforts to drive women equality, particularly in leadership and technology spaces. The reception has been varied, and we are yet to achieve the desired success rates. However, this does not mean that nothing is being done; we are no longer shying away from conversations about?women in leadership, a good number of countries, governments and employers are now striving to achieve the 50:50 balance. At Safaricom, while we have achieved 50:50 gender balance across the organisation, we are looking to grow the number of women in leadership from the current 34% to 40%.

Additionally, conversations about?male-dominated fields?are being demystified and women are encouraged to take up roles based on their passion and not what society deems right.?Most companies are now also breaking barriers and employing based on merit.?At Safaricom, one of the biggest challenges we have as a technology company is the disproportionate representation of women in technology. This gave birth to Women in Technology (WIT), a programme whose main objective is to empower women who have a passion for technology.

WIT is structured to ensure that talent is tapped from the classroom to the boardroom. It also carries out High School outreaches with the aim of reaching 47 girls’ high schools in all 47 counties in Kenya so that they ‘see and believe’ the reality of technology.

A work environment that?empowers?women to thrive is key to ensuring motivation and a drive to go beyond societal beliefs and bias. Safaricom strives to create an environment that empowers people to thrive – regardless of gender, disability, religion, race, age, persuasion or any other quality. We focus on all employees achieving excellence in their work by attracting, retaining and growing diverse talent.?

Our maternity leave allowance is four months (longer than the statutory three), and we offer flexible working hours for six months upon return to work. To further support working parents, our facilities include a crèche with caretakers and teachers, and staff are encouraged to bring children to work. We provide a mothers’ room and private areas for expressing and storing milk. We also offer additional support to staff who are parents of children with special needs.

Diversity & Inclusion?is undisputedly a strong pillar that ensures that all individuals feel heard and seen. This promotes varying talents from across all groups, regardless of gender and other differences. As an employer, ensure that you create an inclusive and safe working environment.

To drive this, we conduct continuous gender target tracking at all levels, ensure targeted recruitment of female managers and build a talent pipeline through Women in Leadership and Women in Technology programmes.

Early this year, through a partnership with the National Industrial Training Authority and Sightsavers, Safaricom offered a six-month internship opportunity to thirty-four?People with Disabilities, 16 of them women. These interns have the opportunity to work in various departments within Safaricom including in Digital Engineering, Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing, Big Data, IP networks among other digital-related fields.

We must treat women with dignity not only at work, but also at home. We should put in place the necessary structures so that women can both care for their families and excel in their careers. This should be done, not as an act of goodwill, but because women deserve these and many more.??

As it is said, women’s rights are human rights too so in all that we do, let us empower them to succeed, and help break the bias.

First published in The Standard on 6th March 2022