Black Looks

Graca Machel said “These are exciting times to be a woman, of any age – mothers, grandmothers, daughters. But we must be reminded that every leader is a product of a collective, a community and a generation. Now the question is, what footprint will you leave for future generations?”

The Women of Networth Conference is an initiative being pioneered by Women of Legacy. An organisation whose focus is on supporting and encouraging women of net worth and influential positions to set a pace that inspires and paves the way for the future generations.

On 3rd and 4th of November 2009, 250 influential and powerful inner circle women leaders from all spheres of industry in Africa will come together for two days to share ideas on how women can achieve net worth and leave a legacy worthy of generations to come. What will make this gathering so different, is that it is not the net worth that reflects on their bank balances that is the topic of discussion, but rather the worth that cuts deeper into what matters most to women – the betterment of their families, communities and the people they lead. The aim of the conference is to address the topic “The legacy that, as a woman, I will leave behind”. The Women’s Conference is set to be the largest and most dynamic gathering of women on the continent. The Conference will unite acclaimed leaders, visionaries, plus thousands more online, to share enriching stories of transformation and success, self-empowerment and life lessons.

The Important Role of The Women Of Networth

There are still three challenges facing our continent and they are grouped under issues of race, gender and wealth. In all three instances, women are always the ones who bare the brunt of these challenges as they are more often than not disempowered to act. In illustrating this point, we can look at the recent global fuel, food and financial crises that have hit hardest on the poorest families, communities from historically disadvantaged backgrounds, and the women looking after these households. In all of these failed systems, women were beneficiaries and consumers, and very few were architects of these systems that have impacted more on women.

If there is one intriguing pattern that seems to cut across centuries and different civilisations, it is that a woman is always less entitled to rights than a man. Now it is the role of women in powerful positions, women of net worth, especially those with a background in financial services to ensure that as the new financial order is built, that we learn from the past and ensure women are vocal and involved in the co-creation of a new financial system that would serve the interests of women and those who depend on them. There is a concern on the continent that financial literacy has not yet reached the levels that could ensure that all individuals, especially women, are able to understand their finances, financial systems and utilize them to create wealth for themselves and their communities.

I am sure that most would agree with journalist Michael McCarthy, writing in The Independent that:

“The argument for empowering women in developing countries, and in the development process, stems not just from equity, but from practicality. It is not only right and just that women should be given a voice, have the work they do recognised, and be treated with respect – the consequences of leaving them behind are dire for whole societies.”

Now compare that ideal with the following information: Women, in our country, constitute 52% of the total population and almost half of those (47%) live in rural areas where employment opportunities, such as they are, show a harsh bias towards the employment of men. In addition, women constitute 56% of the unemployed and 21% of women over 20 remain illiterate. Probably the most important statistic is the fact that 60% of female-headed households live in poverty as compared to 31% of male-headed households.

As working women, each one of us needs to become an activist for other women. We need to join hands to ensure that we are accorded the rights that are so clearly contained in relevant legislation. It is up to all of us to take advantage of the empowering laws in order to translate our hopes and dreams of justice and fairness into a tangible reality.

When we talk of benefiting from the Equity Act, we should look not just at our individual potential for financial or economic gain, but also at how we can develop action plans for the advancement of other women in our organisations and our societies. We need to take a leaf out of the book of the many women who fought for our political freedom; they formed women’s organisations and challenged the stereotypes and bigotry that relegated them to second-class citizenship. Their strident voices were heard and today we see the benefit of this collective approach when we look at the numbers of women participating in the political mainstream at all tiers of government. Activism is not the sole preserve of politicians – it is the definitive tool for change in any environment. What we need is dedication and belief in what we are doing as women.

We need to look at what training is available to women so that they can navigate a passage through the many old school-tie networks and take their rightful places in the workplace. We know that the victimisation in the workplace is a daily reality for many women. We must as female employees or female business leaders insist that support for these women is provided and ensure that those responsible for these actions are exposed and appropriately disciplined. We need to see more women progressing through the ranks and taking a leading role in executive positions in society, government and the private sector. Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan described women empowerment and gender equality as:
“more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.”

We must do so because we know that by empowering the disempowered we strengthen ourselves, our economy and our countries and our continent. We must do so because as African women we will never again allow discrimination and prejudice to dominate over what is good, right and just. We must do so because we are all deeply aware how race, class and gender conspire to place our sisters at the very bottom of the development hierarchy. And we must do so because we believe that our interventions will make a difference.

This is an important conference for women of net worth, they are the decision makers and they play a vital role in our society, economy and policy making. The legacy of women who came before us has made it possible for women today to vote and to serve in the offices of power that they do. It is up to this generation of women to use that influence and power wisely to represent the voice of women through those positions. Women must now work on creating legacies that demonstrate that female leaders have left a positive success footprint during their tenures in office. Graca Machel’s advice to women was to simply follow their passion, do their best and “build your success one brick at a time… and that as you build, you look beside and behind you, always taking someone with you as you rise”.

On the afternoon of the 3rd and 4th , the women will engage in a Legacy Dialogue Circle where they will discuss how best they can utilise their positions of influence and power to create success for others.

The 1st ever vision awards will be handed out at a gala evening on the 4th of November that will mark the end of the conference. The awards will be given to inspiring women visionaries that embody the WOL belief “legacy and ensuring success for future generations.”

We are encouraging all women in positions of influence and leadership to come and join us at this monumental event . . . become an Architect of Change and join the Women of Legacy’s Circle of Sisters.

For more information please contact Tsitsi Mutendi on +263912448876 or email info at nubiaestates dot com