Leadership comes with a lot of commitment and sacrifice

Ms Zuhura Odhiambo is an oasis of hope for women eyeing corporate leadership.

She is the hand pulling strands behind the curtains, nudging corporates in the East African region to absorb a more than 30 per cent quota of women into boards and executive leadership.

The former commercial manager at Nation Media Group, is now the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of New Revenue Solutions Africa (NRSA), a firm  leading the East African Chapter for 30 Per Cent Club.

The club was established in the UK in 2010, by British financier Dame Helena Morrissey, champions for gender balanced boards and senior management.

Three years ago, the regional chapter was launched, setting Ms Odhiambo into an aggressive mission to change the gender dynamics in corporate leadership.

Today, 15 companies whose portfolios range from finance, manufacturing to consultancy, have subscribed to the initiative.

By virtue of subscription, implies organisations becoming conscious of the benefits of having a gender diverse and inclusive workforce.

“The 30 per cent is just the minimum. We are actually having companies with a 50 per cent composition of women on boards. Some with even more than 50 per cent,” says Ms Odhiambo who started this journey of breaking gender barriers hindering women from rising to leadership, five years ago.

According to a 2019 The Gender Equality in the Workplace report jointly prepared by Nairobi Securities Exchange NSE, Equileap and New Faces New Voices, women still lag behind in Kenya’s corporate sector management with only 22 per cent representation in the managerial positions.  In totality, women account for 23 per cent of board members, reveals the report.

Corporate leadership

To increase the women numbers in the corporate leadership, Ms Odhiambo runs three preparatory programs with Business Engage South Africa.

First, the Leaders Walk, which mentors’ women in the middle level management to transit to the C-Suite and boards.

Second, a BoardWalk program for women who are already on boards and it involves sharpening further their skills set not just for their leadership diversification but for nurturing and pulling other women up the ladder.

This program pulls along men into the training sessions, a gender sensitive approach, cultivating an inclusive intervention in bridging gender inequalities in the corporates’ high tables.

And third, a mentorship program for women at the scale of entry level. They engage with seasoned women leaders who have sat on boards and in the C-Suite. The forums leave them with exposure and stepping stones for growth.

This year, listed firms in East, West and Southern Africa that have excelled in incorporating women in leadership, will receive the 30 Per Cent Club’s premier Gender Mainstreaming Awards.

“What makes a company attractive to investors?” she asks.

“Businesses that have transformed and have gender diverse boards,” says the Alumni of Federation of Kenya Employers, Female Future Program and Strathmore Business School with the Women Directors Leadership Programme.

A 2019 analysis by McKinsey on gender diversity in companies established that those in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25 per cent more likely to have above-average profitability than companies in the fourth quartile.

Mode of governance

Recently, Ms Odhiambo signed an agreement with NSE, a stock market institution whose policies can influence the mode of governance in the listed companies. At least 66 firms trade at the bourse.

“NSE joined the 30 Per Cent Club to promote gender equality in the capital markets,” explains the corporate executive.

“It will champion for at least 30 per cent representation of women on boards and senior management in companies listed on the NSE,” adds Ms Odhiambo who Chairs the Board of Events Managers Association of Kenya'

Going forward, she foresees a corporate space that is exceptionally conscious of exclusion of female representation in decision making arms.

“It is not just about women filling up positions on boards. They come in with brains to take business to the next level. And that obviously enhances the country’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product),” she says.

A 2019, The Power of Parity-Advancing Women’s Equality in Africa report by McKinsey Global Institute states that Africa could add $316 billion or 10 per cent to GDP by 2025, if each country prioritised fostering women’s equality, hence the urgency for gender balanced corporate leadership.

Entrepreneurship

Women should, however, avail themselves for the managerial positions and be prepared for the hard knuckle challenges, she advises.

“Being in leadership comes with a lot of commitments and sacrifices. And so it takes a well prepared woman ready to go through that season (leadership).

The Covid-19 era is ostensibly a blessing in disguise for career working mothers. Ms Odhiambo says, it has eliminated some obstacles that stand in the way of women who aspire to go up the leadership ladder and have seen real work-life integration.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has proven that now board meetings can be held online. This makes it possible for a woman to be present in the meetings while being present for her child at home and family,” says Ms Odhiambo married with two children.

“And organisations are now recognising that even as women join boards, they are also mothers. They allow women to respond to the needs of their children and family something that could never happen before.”

Beyond eyeing boards or senior corporate leadership, women can also take up entrepreneurship.

But the road is neither smooth. Ms Odhiambo says: “I will write a book on how to run a business as a woman.’

“It is not that easy but it has never been that difficult. Every day is a learning lesson to become a better entrepreneur. Just have the right attitude and resilience

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