eBusiness Weekly
Enacy Mapakame and Kuda Mhundwa
Today marks International Women’s Day (March 8), a day celebrated globally to commemorate the inspiring roles of women.
It pushes for securing of their rights, while striving for a more equitable society.
The day also serves to remember the voices of women that go unheard and continue to be dominated from securing their rights and realising their full potential.
International Women’s Day also honours the women who have paved the way towards progress and who have struggled to take ‘womanhood’ to a level where it is now.
This year’s theme is “Balance for Better” which is a passionate plea for gender balance in all aspects of society to achieve a better world.
In Zimbabwe and the rest of Africa, women are still battling economic exclusion, societal and cultural practices that perpetuate discrimination, low participation in politics, poor or lack of access to education and poor retention of girls in schools.
Gender-based violence is still rampant and their exclusion from key decision making tables further perpetuate the imbalance.
According to the African Union Commission (AUC) women constitute more than half of the 1,2 billion population in Africa yet are still marginalised with limited participation in influential offices in business and politics.
The Commission also notes that African women are mainly in charge of the majority of households, are key food producers and they represent more than 43 percent of the agricultural labour force.
Others still are key in managing poultry, dairy animals, fisheries, aquaculture, and the marketing of handcrafts and food products while the top political and business offices remain in the hands of their male counterparts.
Despite their potential to grow, women have remained financially excluded with no access to loans due to lack collateral.
According to the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), only 9 percent of women have bank accounts in Middle East; 47 percent in Europe and Central Asia 47; 37 percent in South Asia; 49 percent in Latin America and Caribbean and 30 in Sub Sahara Africa.
The figures have remained low while growth has been also slow despite the proliferation of mobile money services to help bridge the financial literacy gap.
In all this, banks stand accused of providing too little financial support to women.
However, in Zimbabwe the Government is now trying to change all that through the newly formed Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank (ZWMB) that should provide loans to women with more relaxed conditions, a move seen as a key in sharpening entrepreneurial development among women.
It will also help integrate women into mainstream banking activities, until now streamlined because of a lack of security or technical-know-how in business proposal design. Zimbabwe has also made strides towards gender equity and equality in education and politics although more still needs to be done.
British American Tobacco (BAT) managing director Clara Mlambo said Zimbabwe was still rooted in patriarchal values with certain key positions still regarded as a preserve for men. In business, for instance, only two Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed companies are headed by women.
“A simple statistic such as the number of companies listed on the stock exchange headed by women shows that we are not doing well at all as a country.
“At the lower management levels we are adequately represented, the challenge is at the senior and executive levels. The question then is – why are we unable to convert a sufficient number of already existing highly competent junior female managers into senior managers and executives,” queried Mlambo.
“The private sector needs to walk the talk and ensure that it is playing its part in this corporate or institution gender balance journey – the will needs to be there.
“The road is still very long, and interventions will still be required until we have the right balance. In the short to medium term organisations and institutions in Zimbabwe may need to be encouraged through legislation/policies that require a certain quota of women in leadership,” she said.
She however commended President Emmerson Mnangagwa for undertaking to address the gender imbalance through appointment of women in Ministerial positions as well as Government departments.
Mlambo also highlighted the need for mentorship programmes where women in top positions groom others into high corporate roles, inculcating in them leadership qualities.
Said Mlambo: “Having said that, we must also not ignore the importance that men play in the advancement of female leaders – particularly given that there are currently more male leaders than female leaders in most organisations.”
