Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher once said: “if you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.”
As if to confirm her maxim, Charity Mtwazi, Mercy Ndoro and Winnie Muchanyuka have something in common: they became the first female CEOs of their respective organisations and are making things happen.
Nearly 10 months as CEO of Deloitte Zimbabwe, Mtwazi became the first female managing partner of a Big Four firm.
Ndoro took over the reins in October, replacing industrialist Antony Mandiwanza who left the consumer staples concern after 26 years at the helm.
Muchanyuka was appointed Zimbabwe Tourism Authority CE in June last year. The post has been vacant since the retirement of Karikoga Kaseke in 2021 due to ill-health with Givemore Chidzidzi holding forte in an acting capacity.
The trio of Mtwazi, Ndoro and Muchanyuka joins a list of female executives that are holding senior positions in the public and private sectors and commissions.
Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo is calling the shots at the much demanding Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission which is on a crusade in fighting graft. In some months to come, all eyes will be on Justice Priscilla Chigumba and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission as Zimbabwe goes to the polls which will be keenly watched by local and international observers.
It is not easy for women to get the recognition they deserve without their successes diluted by insinuations “she has been well supported by male colleagues or her powerful husband is pulling the strings behind the scenes”.
It is a message to the girl child in the village in Dotito that it can be done; she can rise to the top despite a turbulent background. Those that are doubting themselves, Oprah Winfrey wants them to think like a queen. A queen, she said, is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness, Oprah said.
As the world celebrated the International Women’s Day on Tuesday under the theme, DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality, as Business Times, we pay tribute to all the women who have excelled in their endeavours.
We are alive to a lot of ground that has been covered to ensure there is gender equality in all aspects of life.
We believe a lot of ground has been covered to ensure equality between men and women in all spheres of life.
There are a number of conventions that close the gap between men and women such as the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women which came on board in 1991 and the Beijing Declaration on the Platform for Action (1995).
The Bill of Rights in Chapter 4 of the new Constitution recognises that men and women have a right to equal treatment, including the right to equal opportunities in political, economic, cultural and social spheres.
Despite these manoeuvres, women continue to get the short end of the stick. The spike in the number of child marriages, especially among the Apostolic sect, is a cause for concern and a setback to all the efforts the government has done in the fight for gender equality.
We will continue to shine the light, exposing those bullies that harass students on industrial attachments.
