INCLUSION KEY TO NATIONAL GROWTH

By Chanda Chime Katongo

In the last few decades, Zambia and the rest of the world have struggled to promote gender equality in terms of economic, health and political participation, especially in decision making positions.

Recent statistics show that while women represent around 50 percent of the world’s total population, they account for only about 40 percent of the global formal workforce. This number drops dramatically in developing countries.

Women don’t fare much better in entrepreneurship.

In Zambia, women make up the majority of micro- to small-business owners, despite 40 percent of them having no access to formal financial services or financial literacy training.

Further, women across the globe on average occupy a mere 22 percent of parliamentary seats while also making up 17 percent of government ministers according to United Nations statistics.

These dismal figures give a clear illustration of just how far we still have to go to achieve equity in terms of gender representation in economic participation and leadership.

WHAT’S THE FUSS ABOUT?

Perhaps before we ask how we, as a society, can accelerate the rate of gender inclusion with respect to leadership roles, we ought to first explore the relevance of having women advance in decision-making roles to the overall growth of an organisation, country or indeed a continent.

Data from the World Bank’s “Women, Business and Law 2018” report suggests gender inequality regarding economic participation causes an average income loss of 15 percent in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) economies, 40 percent of which is attributed to entrepreneurship gaps.

There is also compelling evidence to show these losses tend to be significantly higher in developing countries like Zambia.

A report by Fortune magazine showed companies that were more inclusive regarding gender distribution of management roles on average had a larger turnover than those with little to no gender diversity in upper management.

This is especially concerning when you consider the fact that out of 130,000 companies across the globe surveyed by the World Bank only 18 percent of them had women in top management. 

It stands to reason that reductions in the gender gap can result in an increase in the economic competitiveness of Zambia and Africa as a whole.

MARGINAL VICTORIES   

It is unfortunate to note that in 2020 women continue to face disproportionate barriers that impede their ability to succeed in business and/or advance in leadership roles.

Most of these barriers are proliferated by society-imposed gender roles, discrimination and lack of access to finance, to name but a few issues. 

As this is a problem largely created by society, we all have a part to play in tackling these hurdles.  I believe key institutions like banks should take a leading role in providing platforms women can use to succeed. 

At Stanbic Bank, we pride ourselves on being an equal opportunity bank, which is why we have taken a deliberate and proactive approach to helping women overcome these barriers.

To demonstrate the importance we attach to supporting women’s participation in the economy, Stanbic has made female empowerment a key pillar of its business strategy.

Apart from women in nearly 50 percent of all top management positions at the bank, Stanbic has introduced innovative services like Anakazi Banking to help women realise their full economic potential.

Anakazi Banking is a female-only banking service that affords them easier access to finance and affordable insurance cover, while also facilitating training and mentorship sessions to equip female entrepreneurs with the tools they need to succeed in business.

To enhance our impact on businesswomen, we recently partnered with SheTrades – an international programme created to help women owned businesses penetrate a wider range of markets and spur their sustainable growth.

To date, over 500 women have benefitted from Anakazi Banking and the business owner’s training sessions and over 300,000 from the online webinars during this COVID-19 Pandemic.

These initiatives are also meant to help more women gain access to formal financial services, accelerating universal financial inclusion in Zambia.

The goal is not to give women an extra advantage over their male counterparts but to eliminate the challenges that affect women, levelling the playing field so both genders have equal opportunities to succeed. 

INTERGENERATIONAL CHANGE

Female empowerment cannot be sustained if stakeholder efforts only focus on the older generation.

For the efforts we make today to have long lasting effect on society, we cannot ignore the grassroots in our empowerment programmes.

We cannot break traditional norms that undermine a girl’s value to national development overnight. It takes a generation to end deep-seeded counterproductive practices.

Which is why we must focus as much effort in educating girls as we do in empowering women.

Young girls must be mentored to inculcate a culture of economic independence in them.

We need to teach our girls to believe in themselves, to have that can-do attitude and groom them to be leaders - as we have done for our boys.

This way we will raise an entire generation of leaders.

A perfect example of this is Stanbic Bank’s annual mentorship programme dubbed “First Lady for a Day” where high performing girls and boys from some of Zambia’s low-income neighbourhoods and towns undergo intensive financial literacy and entrepreneurship training at the Stanbic Leadership Centre in Lusaka. This program has been running for 10 years now.

The pupils also participate in mentorship sessions with different heads of departments, including a day-long session with Zambia’s First Lady at State House.

The programme is intended to give the pupils real-world experience of leadership and a chance to interact with, and be mentored by, real-life leaders.

I am proud to say that so far, we have had a 100 percent pass rate at university level from all our mentorship alumni.

A BRIGHT FUTURE AHEAD

It is encouraging to see the high level of commitment from public and private sector to combat gender inequality.   

In 2018, Zambia, along with the DRC, Kenya and Tanzania, were listed in the top five economies in Africa in terms of reforms aimed at stimulating increased female participation in the local economy.

The four nations accounted for 13 of a total 34 reforms implemented in the SADC region. About a third of these reforms were in building credit and improving universal financial inclusion as outlined in the Zambia National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2017-2022.

With increasing participation from private sector organisations and regional governments, the prospects of women advancing in leadership positions are bright.

It is our hope at Stanbic Bank that more stakeholders will rise to the occasion and support strategies and programmes that build leadership capacity in women.

After all, no economy can develop to its full potential without the participation of both women and men.

Chanda Chime Katongo is Head Public Relations - Stanbic Bank Zambia Limited

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