International Women’s Day: Celebrating Women!
International Women’s Day: Celebrating Women!
#BalanceForBetter
From empowerment seminars to pop-up festivals, business master classes and , female voices echoed across the globe last week on Friday with a resounding message: Women want balance. #BalanceforBetter is this years’ theme. The 2019 initiative is aimed at gender equality, a greater awareness of discrimination and a celebration of women’s achievements.
In line with my philosophy to #GoBigorGoHome, my IWD celebrations have lasted longer than a day & spanned continents – kicking off in Nairobi & concluding in DC!
Kicked off at the monthly @OWITNairobi Business Meeting on Tuesday 5th March at our new home, Fairview Hotel in Nairobi. The theme was ‘Inclusive Trade as a Catalyst For Women In Economic Empowerment’ which is in line with our Vision – Empowering women to transform communities through global trade. OWIT Nairobi is part of a global network – OWIT International, The Organisation of Women In International Trade – that is united around the world fostering international trade & the advancement of women in business.
We were blessed to have 2 guest speakers. Patricia Okello, Founder of Candid Conversation: Circles For Women In Business shared her business journey & my key take-away from her presentation is the African Proverb, if you want to go fast, go alone and if you want to go far, go together. I look forward to exploring how our 2 networks can work together for the benefit of women in business. Gloria Atuheirwe, of TMEA, shared what @TradeMarkEastA is doing to empower women through trade. As an organisation, OWIT Nairobi is excited to #balanceforbetter. Thank you to Patricia & Gloria for their exceptional presentations!
On Wed 6th March, I was excited to attend the WEPS (Women Empowerment Principles) Dialogue courtesy of UN Women & Banu Khan. The focus was Human Rights – from a gender lens. This was an extremely eye opening forum. Kudos to Mary Thuo of Cityscapes who shared her inspiring journey to ensure that her company champions human rights. I was really inspired by her presentation – simply because Mary runs an SME, and it would be really easy to see Human Rights as something that is only applicable to large organisations. Kudo’s Mary for the amazing work that you are doing – you truly are living out this years IWD theme, #BalanceForBetter
On Thurs 7th – we were delighted to be invited to the Standard Chartered IWD event.
The entire @PTSAfrica team was in attendance & we enjoyed a powerful panel discussion with Zebib Kavuma, Deputy Regional Director – UN Women Africa; Hon. Lady Justice Njoki Ndungu, Judge of the Supreme Court of Kenya and Fariba Abbas, CEO – British Chamber of Commerce, Kenya. A lot of amazing insights were shared by the panellists, what ‘hit the spot’ for me, probably because that is the space I am in right now, was how important it is for women to have a strong support system. I keep saying that my 40th birthday present to myself a couple of years ago – was the permission to say no. As I continue in my leadership journey, I realise that I need to jealously guard my time & have laser focus – spending time on priority things/tasks/commitments. I have serious FOMO issues & this is something that I have really struggled with!
Parting shot – women must step up & take their place at the table, understanding that diversity is power. Stop living life as though it’s a dress rehearsal, this is it!
International Women’s Day itself started early. I was invited to speak to the #DigitalDivas at TechnoBrain about ‘Leveraging EQ To Step Up & Lead’
Emotions are data – as we step up into leadership, we must learn how to leverage this emotional data. Be BOLD, dare to harness your emotions your success as a leader.
In order to help people do EQ, Six Seconds developed a 3-part EQ Model;
- Know Yourself – being more aware
- Choose Yourself – being more intentional
- Give Yourself – being more purposeful
These 3 pursuits are actions & the more we practice, being more aware, intentional & purposeful, the greater our levels of Emotional Intelligence become.
From Technobrain, I headed to Upperhill to spend time with the women at EY, courtesy of an invitation from Edith Osoro Ombasa. The event kicked off with a presentation from Nancy Muhoya, EY East Africa Assurance Leader & Partner. Nancy talked about the reason why there is such great attrition as ladies advance in their leadership journey. I came across this interesting statistic in a Women In Leadership Survey conducted by Momentum 4
Whatever the reason – the numbers tell the tale. At entry level, many organisations have a 50/50 split as far as new hires are concerned, but as you progress up the ladder & look at leadership roles, there is a significant imbalance. Beyond what organisations are doing to ensure a conducive environment – one that supports women to grow in leadership, we – must step & dare to push through the unconscious bias, the fear & uncertainty and reach for our goals.
The IWD 2019 theme, #balanceforbetter, isn’t just a hastag for a day, it should be our anthem. Our organisations do better – across all measures, when we leverage diversity! A woman adds value to the board room because #SheBelongs!
Emotions are data. Emotional Intelligence is the ability to understand emotions and to harness that power. It’s a call to be more aware, more intentional & more purposeful.
My day ended with a special event with the PTS Africa team, celebrating who we are to each other. These are the women who make me look awesome on a daily basis, and I am honoured to lead them, even as we #balanceforbetter as an organisation, I celebrate these HEROINES!
Sharon Kangai, Cindy Weru, Orlanne Olembe & Valerie Owino – YOU GUYS ROCK!!!!
This week I have been in Washington DC, representing OWIT Nairobi at the annual Spring board meeting.
On Wednesday, I attended another International Women’s Day Celebration hosted by WIIT DC, a sister BMO from the OWIT International fraternity. It was a great event, with amazing views as we listened to an amazing panel discussion with Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, representing Washington’s 1st District and Congresswoman Jackie Walorski, representing Indiana’s 2nd District, discussing their views on trade, women’s empowerment, and the 2019 Congressional agenda.
My IWD celebrations come to a close today at the OWIT International Spring Board Meeting. What a fitting way to end the week, as I receive the OWIT International Chapter of the Year Award, on behalf of the Nairobi Chapter.
I am delighted to receive this award on behalf of OWIT Nairobi. We are passionate about empowering women to transform communities through global trade, and this award is an affirmation of the work that we are currently doing on the continent. At OWIT Nairobi we work with Women Owned Businesses to build capacity & gain access to markets so that they can trade globally.
Thank you to OWIT International for recognising the work that went into hosting the wildly successful 17th annual OWIT International Conference, for the 1st time on African soil, in October last year, with the theme ‘Bridging The Gap: Empowering Businesses To Go Global’
What an amazing 2 weeks it as been! As we wind up the OWIT International Spring Board meeting, I feel pumped up – inspired by the amazing women in the OWIT network & our shared vision to promote the advancement of women in international trade
Happy International Women’s Day 2019!
#BalanceForBetter #AfricanEQRevolution #WomenInTrade #IWD2019
