'Let's disrupt!' How Dr Wanjiru Rutenberg shattered global glass ceilings

At the tender age of 14, Wanjiru Kamau embarked on a life-changing journey. Her parents, with grand aspirations for their eldest child, made a pivotal decision – to send her to the foreign land of Denver, Colorado, in the United States.

It was a time when winter's chill had enveloped the city, but Wanjiru had no choice but to adapt to her new surroundings.

Her host, an uncle who was a surgeon, promptly enrolled her in a public school, where she experienced a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities.

This exposure and interaction with multiracial student body opened Wanjiru's eyes to the lost opportunities for her people in Africa, particularly in her home country, Kenya. It instilled in her a burning desire to pay it forward.

True to her parents' dreams, Wanjiru did not disappoint. At the age of 30, she returned home as Dr Wanjiru Kamau – and married, taking on the name Dr Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg.

Her accomplishments brought immense joy to her father, a retired electrical engineer from Kenya Airways, and her mother, a former employee of the Teachers Service Commission.

Read also: Cheers to Kenya’s four most reputable women

Throughout her higher education journey, Wanjiru was fortunate to receive a scholarship that covered her undergraduate and postgraduate studies. She earned a degree in politics from Whitman College and seamlessly transitioned to the University of Minnesota, where she completed her master's and doctoral degrees in political science.

 “I wanted to be a lawyer like Martha Karua.  I also admired James Orengo (Siaya Governor), and (Prof) Anyang’ Nyong’o (Kisumu Governor) who is also a political scientist,” she shares.

However, financial constraints as a foreign student in the US led her to pursue political science, as it offered funding for her doctoral studies.

“Then I wanted to do public policy, and I ran into the same problem.  Then I discovered if I did political science, they would actually pay so long as I told them I was going to get a PhD. If I told them I only needed a Master’s, they would make me pay but if I told them I was signing up for the PhD, they would pay my fees and a monthly stipend to be a teaching assistant.”

But this daughter of Kamau, the man who raised her to know she can do anything in this world, has indeed held high-flying global positions so parallel to her training.

Global initiative

From her role as director at the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (Award), where she expanded its range and diversity of partners, to her position as an executive in-residence at Schmidt Futures, where she designed and built a global initiative for Black women senior leaders, her impact has been far-reaching.

Her work has also extended to several boards and advisory councils of organisations investing in agriculture, climate change, environment, philanthropic work, human development, and social ventures, including the African Climate Foundation, Centre for Development Research, Wangari Maathai Foundation, Bridge Collaborative, and New Economy Venture Accelerator, among others.

In the past four months alone, she has been appointed to significant positions, including a senior fellowship at the Ford Foundation and a seat on the executive board of the global Crop Trust, which implements the international treaty on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.

I ask her how she cracked it.

Read also: Kenyans shine in ‘100 Most Influential African Women’ publication

Wanjiru attributes it to her curiosity and unwavering determination. "Political science just gave me a degree. But kuwa kimbelembele na kichwa ngumu (being curious and firm-minded) has landed me most places I've landed," she says.

"Kichwa ngumu is that you can't tell me, I can't do this. Kimbelembele is kwani? (Why not?). What is this thing? How hard can this thing be?"

Wanjiru recognises that her kichwa ngumu and kimbelembele mind-set stem from a gender perspective.

"There is a way we tend to raise girls; we tell them to be demure, sit quietly, and wait to be invited. I'm grateful to my parents, especially my dad; he never did that to me. My dad never looked at me and said that you can't do that, that's for boys. So, fathers play a massive role in the lives of their daughters," she reckons.

“Now I have two sons, and I convince them that they can do it. Whatever it is, just go try. Others have done it, and if they haven’t, then you will be the first one to do it.”

One thing that deeply bothers Wanjiru is wasted talent.

"We waste humans in the stupidest of ways, and I really hate it. So, everything I've done is 'how can we stop wasting humans?'" she says.

"We waste humans because they are poor, because of racism, patriarchy, class. Every job I find myself doing is around that."

This sentiment is at the core of Akili Dada, a leadership incubator for young women and girls that Wanjiru founded 20 years ago.

"I started Akili Dada when I was only 26 years old. It was very much based on my own experiences. At that age, I was finishing up my PhD, which I obtained at 30 – a crucial milestone for me before having my child. All my education was based on scholarships. People were investing in me; I also wanted to invest in young people, and that was a big motivator for starting Akili Dada," she explains.

Wanjiru's degrees in political science, with a focus on Kenya's transition to democracy, fuelled her interest in nurturing the next generation of women leaders.

Inspired by trailblazers like Martha Karua and Linah Kilimo, she questioned, "What are we doing with the next generation of leaders? Are we preparing them? We have to be intentional in preparing them. You get better quality leaders if you're intentional in preparing them.

So, Akili Dada was 'how do we, as a country, not lose talent in terms of really bright girls from poor families?'"

Starting with a scholarship program, Akili Dada expanded into a comprehensive initiative working with girls and young women aged 13-35. "

"The key pillars of the program were access to education, support in the form of mentoring and building intergenerational relationships, as well as experiential learning and leadership," Wanjiru says.

During the December holidays, the girls would receive grants of Ksh 3,000 ($22.59) to Ksh5,000 ($37.65) to start community projects in their home areas.

"The project was the beginning of getting them to practice being responsible over communal resources. If you don't start with small responsibilities, then one day when you're in charge of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), my friend, you'll see smoke. So, can we start training leaders at the high school level and give them responsibilities over their community resources and see how they grow in that responsibility over time?" she explains.

Although Wanjiru exited Akili Dada just one month shy of its 10-year anniversary, she remains proud of the organisation's continued success.

"When I left, I left. I've never sat on the board. They call me if they have questions, and if I have potential funders, I connect them. I'm really proud of how they have continued to run the organisation," she says.

Nineteen years after founding Akili Dada, Dr Wanjiru is on a new mission: to elevate and empower Black women across the world who have reached senior levels of management.

Read also: A nest for bright girls

In September 2022, she launched Black Women in Executive Leadership (B-Wel).

"B-Wel's ambition and mission are bigger. The scope is global, and we are doing three things; connecting Black senior female leaders around the world into a community of mutual support. Because racism and patriarchy combined is another, like a tough combination, we are connecting them to share strategies, tools, and tactics that are proving successful as you navigate that intersection of patriarchy and anti-Black racism," she explains.

"We are also collecting and curating Black women's wisdom on how to navigate that intersection. We are curating not just for Black women but for others to learn how to navigate global oppressive systems."

"The third thing we are doing is catalysing collaboration for change. For instance, we have a partnership with the New York Stock Exchange, where we are working to increase the number of Black women serving on the boards of listed companies. We are also partnering with some of the leading executive search firms in the world, the ones that hire CEOs, and we can help them identify a diverse group of candidates and help the Black women position themselves for executive careers.

They are, however, working in a challenging environment when the anti-black movement is threatening any developments aimed at emancipating the black population.

"It's challenging to discuss Black issues, especially in the US where our donors Her strength comes from inner power and daily talks with God, asking the Creator to make her useful. Failure to her is "not fulfilling my purpose on this planet" - something she deeply cares about.

During her "numerous internships" in good and bad organisations, she found purpose.

Well, in her “tonne of internships,” she did find some purpose.  The purpose to be useful and make a difference in the lives of others.

African scientists

“I’d say, if I ever do this, I do it differently. You see things done badly and you see things done well and if you tell yourself, if I ever get a chance, I’ll do this differently. If a chance finds you, you’ve already decided how you will do it,” she says.

At Award, she transformed it into a pan-African organisation recognised across the continent.

“I took an organisation that didn’t have the deepest connection with partners of the continent and turned it into a pan-African organisation where we walked into the room, and people would recognise us. We raised nearly $40 million for African scientists. I also designed gender and climate change fellowship programs," she says proudly.

Joining the Ford Foundation as a senior fellow is a "tremendous honour as the first Kenyan in this very senior role." She says she'll use it to advance B-Well's work and contribute to the foundation's mission.

As she empowers women, she warns against suppression.

"Don't let anyone call you too kimbelembele (outspoken); that's their problem. Let them level up."

She sees Kenya's failure to pass the two-thirds gender law after 14 years as "political cowardice."

"It will eventually pass. With balanced perspectives, we could've solved some national issues sooner."

Those who know her describe her as self-driven and resolute once she sets her mind.

“She is self-driven and believes in justice and equity,” says Peter Irungu, says Peter Irungu, her B-Well co-conceptualiser.

“She’ll say ‘Let’s not just accept the way things are. Let’s disrupt and let’s think a little harder of what’s possible outside of what we’ve been told is possible.”

He reaffirms that B-Well was born to address the barriers Black women have to manoeuvre to reach the executive level and remain there.

“"We thought, 'How can we address that? A fellowship with mentorship, coaching, and a transnational experience?'" Irungu says.

Joy Zawadi of Akili Dada is inspired by Dr Wanjiru's "confidence and vision to change communities" and recognition that "this continent won't change unless you challenge the status quo."

She notes that Dr Wanjiru’s exit left a legacy: “leadership isn’t sitting somewhere for 50 to 60 years holding onto power.”

[email protected]