Looking beyond skirts and pants

Source : Kutlwano

Author : Ludo Chube

Location : Gaborone

Event : Interview

 

One thing with women, which is quite admirable, is that they are multi-tasked. Like the eight-legged octopus, women can juggle a number of things at a go, experts have observed. For instance, it has been observed that women can balance paid work and family care effectively well amid  male perception that, for female employees, family responsibilities come first.

That women are ambidextrous, it can be argued, simply neutralises the stereotypes that some responsibilities are the sphere for men only. 

Further, their ambidexterity, without doubt, helps them  survive culturally-defined limitations that society places on them.

Although such stereotypes are known to have led to women generally believing that indeed they are inferior to their male counterparts, women in various fora have never relented on voicing out their aversion for gender inequalities.

It was, therefore, against this background that women attending a National Development Bank (NDB) business and leadership seminar recently were advised and encouraged to take their positions in a male dominated world, particularly in the workplace.

One of the speakers, NDB’s chief executive officer, Lorato Morapedi, abiding by the Setswana dictum that, go ruta mosadi ke go ruta setshaba, called on women to venture into other investment sectors of the economy against stereotypical ones that they have come to be associated with, such as textiles.  “We are tired of being associated with such sectors when there is a lot more we can offer as women,” she remarked.

Having a rich background of entrepreneurial development, Morapedi begged women to lean on and support each other, something she termed sisterhood mentality. “There is very little participation from women in areas such as business and politics, yet there are a lot of women in the informal sector,” argued Morapedi.

She observed that the fact that women occupied 31 per cent of seats in senior management roles in Botswana reflected their potential as leaders.  However, she noted that there was still room for improvement.

“For me, when I walk into a boardroom, all I see is people, I don’t see skirts or pants. I look beyond the gender lines because, after all, in the eyes of the creator of human kind we are all equal,” she asserted.

The NDB chief emphasised the fact that women should not try to be like men, rather, they should be confident and self-assertive, though without necessarily being aggressive. Therefore, “we should not pretend we have testosterone because we don’t. We are not men, we are women but we are not walkovers. We are human beings first,” she argued.

She challenged women to venture into areas such as mining, agriculture, and manufacturing notwithstanding that they had been traditionally considered men’s domain. 

She said it was time women participated in large scale projects as well. “We are currently reviewing some of our products to make them friendlier for women entrepreneurs,” she said.

Below is a potted list of the qualities Morapedi said were associated with women, which can work for or against them.

1. A Boardroom Survival Guide for Women

Women are seen to care too much; they are compassionate and caring people. This can be at the cost of the cut throat attitude that is necessary in the business world or in the board room. Women should not apply the caring mentality where it is not necessary or applicable. They need to draw the line between when to switch that on and off.

 

2. The Super Woman Myth

Though we are multi-taskers and have a lot on our plate, at times we need to come to a point where we admit that we cannot do something or that something was not meant for us.

 

3. The spirit of pushing back

Mothering everyone at work or in one’s business, from employee to supervisor is totally unnecessary. It robs one of time to reflect on who they are and where they are headed.

 

4.Supporting each other

 This is where the sisterhood comes to play. When one occupies a position of power they should support each other and that is something women still need to work on.

 

5.Getting into character

Most women lack the self-confidence and are too overwhelmed with too many responsibilities to dream for themselves. They need to see where they want to go, make positive self-affirmations in the morning and change the way they see themselves. They should also associate with the right people.

At the same event, Brand Botswana deputy director, Ludo Mokotedi, on the other hand, cautioned women to stop being apologetic about who they are. Sharing the story of her life, Mokotedi said she grew up as a dreamer, with her parents never putting a limit to how big she could dream just because she was a girl.

Further, she sternly warned the women fraternity that they should never at any time try to be males but should embrace who they are and all that comes with it. “Let us stop trying to be what we are not. We are females, we can never be males,” she implored fellow women.

The Brand Botswana official also invited women to use the Brand Botswana logo to sell their companies. She praised women for having the unique ability of bringing society together, naturally. “Females have the ability to bring people together through metshelo (money-making social clubs) and church groups. 

Mokotedi said women have that natural pull factor to bring society together, adding, “whether we know it or not, we provide inspiration, we grow people’s minds, we change communities and go as far as changing the nation.”

She also said women were innovative and influential in the creative economy such as in areas of art and crafts, attire and cuisine.

Another speaker, Ntombi Setshwaelo, who is a counsellor and life coach advised women not to overuse their good qualities as they cease to be a blessing when they are overused. “Women are emotional thinkers but they need to know when to use emotions and when not.” That, she said, called for some emotional intelligence. She stated as a matter of fact that research has shown that women speak about 16 000 words per day and that men’s only amount to 8 000. “However when we take this talkative nature of ours to the boardroom unedited and uncensored, it just won’t work,” she warned.

In a rather hilarious moment, Setshwaelo shared her opinion on how the economic recession would not have happened had women been at the top in financial institutions, as they are not risk takers, and would not have recklessly just given out loans.

She also encouraged women to invest in their personal development, to read a variety of books and grow in the context of how God made them within their own strengths. “Information begets and knowledge is power but we have to own this knowledge well enough to apply it into our lives.”

 

Winning in Public … Winning in Private

Life coach Petronilla Muriuki-Musau’s goal was to teach women to not only become great in public but to be winners in their private and personal lives as well. She advised women to know themselves better. “Knowing yourself is the beginning of wisdom. When you look at that person in the mirror do you like what you see?”

The reason for doing that, said Masau, was that one is able to manage themselves better when they know who they are. “There is correlation between self-awareness and the success of yourself and your business.”

 

Values

This means establishing the core values that best define you and that you hold dear, having a vision and a mission statement. With that in place, Masau said someone can then live a value-based life. “Even the jobs that we will take up and the companies that we work for will be defined by the values that we hold dear,” she advised.

 

Balance

She said the body, the soul and the spirit should all be at equilibrium. “You should introspect and ask yourself the following: Do you know why you are here on earth? Where are you spiritually? Are you taking care of your physical needs (exercise, eating healthy)? How do you do financially? Any saving plans? Retirement? Are your relationships where they should be?” The goal, she said, was to strive for excellence and not perfection.

 

Association

Further, Masau said that it was important for one to design a priority pyramid and put first things first. When it comes to relationships and association she believed that we should pick people who would celebrate us when we succeed and not be jealous? “You should not just pick people who will lament with you,” she advised.

When all was said and done, Masau had the audience toast to “the women they are today, to the women they are going to be and to the women they will be remembered for when they depart this world.”

 

 

Teaser:

 

We are tired of being associated with such sectors when there is a lot more we can offer as women.”