No, leadership has no male face
What you need to know:
- Last Saturday’s Kenya Editors Guild (KEG) election goes down in history as the moment that shaped the dreams and aspirations of young women in media.
- In its 25 years of existence, KEG had not had a woman president until the election that saw Zubeida Koome elected president and Ruth Nesoba her deputy.
Last Saturday’s Kenya Editors Guild (KEG) election goes down in history as the moment that shaped the dreams and aspirations of young women in media.
In its 25 years of existence, KEG had not had a woman president until the election that saw Zubeida Koome elected president and Ruth Nesoba her deputy. Cumulatively, out of the 11-member KEG executive council, six are women.
The vision of KEG’s previous leadership, under Churchill Otieno, for women’s empowerment has been steadfast. It had women in its leadership ranks, including Ms Koome as vice-president and Rosalia Omungo as CEO. A good number of women sat in the council.
A female president is a milestone in a society plagued by gender discrimination. I am always disappointed by the lack of gender equality in an age where women should have equal opportunities as men.
The two women at the helm of KEG contested against equally strong men; as such, the organisation becomes a real-time case study in female leadership.
Times have changed. Gone are the days when men primarily identified themselves with other men, a barrier that prevented women from rising to leadership. Both male and female editors voted for Ms Koome and her team.
An industry that remains highly conservative in terms of gender equality now has two women leading one of its institutions. We should do away with biases that say, for example, that ‘leadership has a male face’, we need femaleness in leadership. Women bring a different perspective to leadership and open up more opportunities for other women.
I have encountered few senior women in the organisations I have worked for, besides the time I was a teacher at Alliance Girls High School (I taught at Alliance ). Through them, I learned to be flexible and strategic to manoeuvre through traditional power structures.
Prior to that, I would give in to my fears, mostly about taking on roles I perceived as ‘manly’. I have also learned to make myself heard and recognise that I am a role model for the women who come after me.
Meanwhile, the rainy season is here and the rivers that dried up are filling up. The rural folk, who rely on river water, are happy. Women and girls, especially, are disproportionately affected by water scarcity.
The burden to collect and carry water for long distances falls on their shoulders, making them vulnerable to abuse and ill-health. It also affects their ability to study, work, and live with dignity. In this week’s edition, we visit Turkana and Samburu, where well-wishers are easing the women’s burden of water collection.