How I built my career in environment sustainability

During the World Bank side event on digital transformation on a livable planet at the just concluded COP28, she was the only female participant in the panel discussion.

Karen Basiye, the Director of Sustainable Business and Social Impact at Safaricom, was among four panel participants where the focus of discussion was on digital technologies that her company has done to help make the planet livable. A lonely place for a woman, one would think, but Karen has been in there for more than a decade and has grown accustomed to it.

“Of course women have come a long way, so in many sessions of this caliber, men still dominate and at times you have to struggle to find the women,” she says.

Even so, Karen insists that she has never felt out of place. “For instance, when I joined the panel, I didn't even look around and say ‘okay, I'm the only woman’. I knew I was there because I was able to deliver on the topic,” she adds.

But for Karen, it is not just talk for the sake of it, she has walked the talk. In her role, Karen has been at the forefront of steering the company towards eliminating greenhouse gas emissions.

A testament of this was when Safaricom was recognised at one of the side events of the conference as being among key players in the continent who are championing sustainable growth.

It is a tasking job, though. For instance, her participation at the Cop28 involved attending various meetings, consultations, engagements and discussions with different players. Most of her engagements involve a lot of international travel.

“For example, just before we stepped out for this interview, we were in discussion about our meeting in Geneva next week. I have also just confirmed that I will be on a panel to talk about climate and technology in the Mobile World Congress set to happen in Barcelona, Spain in February.”

Such interactions, she says, are crucial for anyone in her capacity. But it comes at a cost.

“It is tasking for anyone, especially if you are a mother and a wife, but I’ve made a schedule for the family around work. My children know they can call me any time, and when they do, nothing else is important. Whether I'm in New York or wherever, I will step out to talk to them. We talk every morning and we pray every night.”

At times, she says, she has to check on them when they come from school, even if she is away, and on some occasions, she carries them along during official trips.

But it is not always as easy as it seems. For instance, as we were sitting for the interview, Karen revealed that she had just missed a traditional event with her family.

“My children have called me to say, ‘mama, we're putting up the Christmas tree’, and for a moment I was sad because we have always done this together.”

These, according to Karen, are the challenges career women face, and unfortunately become a hindrance for many with a vision of rising to the top.

“When you compare the number of women at the entry level of any company, you will realise that when they get to senior management, they start tailing off. When you start bearing children, your priorities shift at least until the children are slightly grown.”

Unfortunately, not all women are able to pull themselves up from this. Karen is lucky to have a concrete support system. Not only does she come from an empowered family, she married into an enlightened one too.

“My late mother-in-law was a banker, so she understood the life of a career woman. We could discuss corporate life, the pitfalls, her career, mine, and everything in between,” she adds.

Growing up, Karen always wanted to be a lawyer and even when she joined the university, she had applied to study law.

“I even remember consulting some key lawyers in Nairobi, and they told me, you know what? You can still study anything and be a lawyer at the end of the day.”

But in high school she excelled in sciences compared to humanities.

“I excelled in sciences, but when it came to choosing my career, my father wanted me to be an economist or accountant.”

She went against her father’s desires and studied environmental science at Kenyatta University, and according to her, it has been a very interesting journey.

During her first semester, her father had no clue the course she had decided to take.

“After he found out, I remember once telling him that there can only be one Wangari Maathai.

“All my six sibling have taken different career paths. My sister is a lawyer and I have brother working in public health, while the other one is an engineer. My other sister is a marketer, while the rest are still in school.”

Against this backdrop, she had no choice but to prove not just her father, but her whole family wrong.

“At the university I was doing summer semesters to ensure I finished ahead of the curve.”

As she was completing her studies, the National Environment Management Authority NEMA was being set up.

“Also, it was during this time that the Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMCA) of 1999 was coming up and setting up institutions.”

So she went and volunteered at NEMA, where she worked under the public complaints committee, and it was at this point that she was inspired to go for her Master’s degree.

“I stumbled across Erasmus Mundus scholarships, I applied and got it, then went to study in Europe for two years.”

She travelled overseas for her joint Master of Environmental Science, Policy and Management degree, courses that saw her rotate from Lund University in Sweden, University of Manchester, in the United Kingdom, the Central European University in Hungary and the University of the Aegean, in Greece.

By the time she was coming back home, Safaricom was looking for their first environmental manager, and she applied and got the job.

Her experience has spanned various disciplines among them, social policy, corporate environmental management, environmental compliance assessment, energy and climate change policies, strategies for sustainable development, and environment risk management, among others.

Despite her illustrious career, her mantra has always been remaining grounded and humble enough to understand that the success - both hers and that of the company she works for - has been a gradual journey

This way of thinking, she says, has helped her win respect among her colleagues. “This, complemented by your knowledge in your area of expertise – whether male or female – gives you an upper hand.”

Right now, she is part of the mentoring team in her company that tours various schools to coach and encourage girls to explore the realm of technology.

Karen is also looking forward to broadening her digital leadership skills.

“I have done a course at Boston University, and MicroMasters in digital leadership skills because I want to be a digital leader of the future.”

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