How Boardroom appointments work: Inclusion of women in decision making
Article by: Arnold Mutamiri
Women are not active on decision making in many boardrooms, this is not because that they don’t want but that they are not given the opportunity. Many companies think that only men are capable of serious decision making that is why they call on board men leaving out women. The world has shifted from having too many useless people in boardroom to having useful people in boardrooms. There are young and brave women who are assuming the positions of CEOs and running big companies better than men. Decision-making is not centered on gender.
…
Also Read: How Boardroom appointments work at Investorserve ?
…
Women are slowly liberated in doing businesses and making stern decisions on their own in Africa, which is a positive step towards success stories for women. Kahn Walla returnee from the United States of America and a Cameroonian native testified how happy she was when the law in her country granted women new rights which included travelling without male companions, open bank accounts and register businesses on their own, without their husbands’ consent.
In this case Kahn Walla was liberated and can now make decisions with other women in their boardroom as a freed Chief Executive and or female boss. Kahn Walla is now earning more than US$500,000 PER annum. As a woman in Africa, earning that much is quite remarkable since women were for long not given chances to be entrepreneurs. Coming from a country with high levels of poverty, Kahn is happy to earn at least half a million yearly and making her own decisions freely.
In Senegal, the female literacy rate is about 29,2 percent and about 42 percent of women are employed formally. 19.2 percent of women seats in the parliament. The percentage of women seating in the parliament is very much worrisome. What it means is that men are deciding for women in parliament. A parliament is also a boardroom in its nature and inclusion of women in decision making on policies and other business must be taken seriously.
Africa struggles a lot because there is no gender balance in boardrooms to make decision-making process easy. In Southern Africa, South Africa has a female literacy rate of 80,9 percent. This female literacy rate is a mix of black and white women. 38 percent of these women are formally employed and 32,8 percent seats in the parliament.
Decision making process in South African parliament will favour men as they protect their interest when voting in the house of assembly. Women should fight for the right to be heard and this can only be done through electing women to fill in influential political positions so that decision making in boardroom will be fair. In Uganda, Julian Omalla an award winning 2004 women entrepreneur of the year earns US $4million per annum through her beverage company. Julian has a voice in the boardroom and is employing men to do the job while she is at liberty to make stern decisions.
The world as a whole is failing to consider women in top posts and allowing them to lead and make decisions. What is the percentage of women presidents ever recognized in the world? It is high time the world has to take women on board and unleash them to do what they know and improve the living on earth. Women should not be too dependent on men and should not let men deciding everything especially in boardrooms. Women have they better solutions and they can only be better when they speak out than to be quiet.
Editor in Chief: David Nhawu
Feedback: Email: sirdavidn@gmail.com
6 Comments