ENHANCING WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN LEADERSHIP
By Jerry William Chaba
In a 2011 study published by the Harvard Business Review, in
which 7,280 business leaders were polled, 16 leadership skills or
‘competencies’ were considered. (namely, taking initiative, self development,
integrity and honesty, ability to stretch goals, building quality
relationships, collaboration and teamwork, drive for results, development of
others, inspiration and motivation, championing change, solving problems and
analyzing issues, prolific and powerful communication, connects the group to
the outside world, being innovative, technical and professional expertise,
developing strategic perspective. Sources: Zenger, J and Folkman, J.)1.
The poll shows women outperforming their male counterparts in all but 2 of the
listed skills, including those which were considered traditional male
strengths, like taking initiative and driving for results. Men outscored women
only in one skill, i.e. developing
strategic perspective.
While it is refreshing to see women get the credit they
thoroughly deserve, these figures, however, must be approached with caution.
Opinion polls are heavily influenced by personal tastes, biases and beliefs,
and while this makes little difference in behavioral studies and operational
analysis, anecdotal evidence is not
pure science. Also 7,280 respondents represent a small sample size when
compared to the number of business leaders available worldwide. What the poll does tell us is that women are capable
of high office and responsibility based on the opinions of their peers, and can
perform admirably when compared with male colleagues and counterparts.
Translating belief into concrete gains on the ground,
however involves continuous education and mentoring programs for promising
girls and young women. Policies like KIND’s KUDRA program must continue apace,
along with programs that link bright and talented young women with positive
role models who will replicate female success stories across all facets of our
national experience and provide them with practical hands-on knowledge. As
always, it is critical to engage young people in their formative, malleable years,
when positive ideals can make meaningful impact. Hence the importance of
targeting primary and post-primary school aged girl children.
Employing political leverage and ensuring female
representation within the national political process will also enable women
with the political clout to engage issues of broad interest. KIND currently
pursues an admirable ‘30 x 15’ goal, which targets a 30% representative figure
of politically active women leaders within the Nigerian natural political
process by the year 2015. Cognizant with the view that political influence alone
is far from enough, the European Union currently seeks a 40% quota for women on
supervisory boards for all European companies. This quota is expected to be in
place by 2020, and failure to comply would attract fines, exclusion from
government tenders and even a ban on public subsidies.2 While such policies are indeed laudable,
effective monitoring and evaluation is necessary if efficacy must be
guaranteed. KIND (along with other well-intentioned bodies) must remain
vigilant and courageous enough to continually advocate that the quantity as
well as the quality of women
leadership does not in any way depreciate. Quotas are a double edged sword, and
left unhindered may descend into tokenism and inefficacy.
Women leadership can also be enhanced by ensuring that small
and medium-scale businesses owned by women receive access to much needed
financial support through linkages with micro-finance institutions (or even
conventional banks). Funding remains a huge challenge to women who are driven
and talented, but lack the finances to grow their businesses. Micro-finance
institutions have begun to bridge the gap, but there remains a large number of
unbanked female entrepreneurs, eager to contribute their part to their families
and to the nation at large. Historically, loans by female borrowers are less
likely to turn problematic, as most women are usually risk-averse when compared
to their male counterparts. 97% of the borrowers from the world-famous Grameen
Bank are women, and surprisingly, while there is no ‘legal instrument’ between
the borrower and the lender, the bank never has to switch to ‘punishment mode’
to deal with any defaulters. Largely because the bank believes that women are
more entrenched in their host societies and are very reliable borrowers.3 Programs like this would empower women
with the means to determine their own fates and take bolder decisions for the
benefit of themselves and their families.
The link between non-governmental organizations and the
public and private sectors of the nation must be continually strengthened to
ensure the smooth flow of ideas. Brilliant ideas may end up in stasis or even
remain unimplemented because communication channels are poor (or even
non-existent). Funds meant for quality grassroots programs might be misplaced
or misused because information meant for certain people was never received, or
was probably never sent in the first place. Committed young women could be
discouraged from assuming responsibility because of the wrong influences. There
is too much at stake for politicians and agencies to get distracted with
fiefdoms and powerbases. If the goal is enhancing the quality and caliber of
women leaders as well as their participation, then there is no nobler reason
for pulling together for a common cause. Women after all, are worth it.
SOURCES
1.
Zenger, J. and Folkman, J. Are women better leaders than men? Harvard Business Review, March 2012
2.
Okechukwu Nnodim, EU seeks 40% quota for women on boards The Punch, September 5 2012
p30
3.
Randall, B. When
it comes to small business loans, women are preferred , May 28th 2010 www.gradyjournal.com/?p=4880
