Rising Woman: How women can make it to the top of the corporate ladder

Dar es Salaam. A woman ascending the corporate ladder is not a big surprise, however, how they get to the top, the hardship they have to endure, hurdles they have to surmount, is a point of concern,” says Marryan Mugo, currently the President of Rotary Club of Dar es Salaam Oysterbay.

Ms Mugo says her personal experience is a tale filled with ups and downs, but the journey has been worth it. She says that through it all she has learned to embrace each step whilst learning new things on a daily basis.

Speaking to The Citizen Rising Woman, Ms Mugo exclusively breaks down tips for a woman to ascend the corporate ladder, she explained that these tips can act as a guide to one’s main goal(s).

1. Believe in yourself

“A woman must believe in herself in the attainment of either a goal, a higher position, a promotion, even in career diversion. It is understandable when there are changes along the way, but whatever you have set your mind on can be easily achieved when you believe in yourself,” says Ms Mugo.

She detailed that any goal can be attained with foresight – the ability to know where you’re headed. She says that it is easier for people to support you when you have a vision and know where you are going.

“No person can see your future if you do not vision it somewhere, yes… it can be difficult, but you must find a way to explain your dream to others, especially those that can partially or fully support you to reach your goals,” says Ms Mugo.

2. You must be self-driven

Ms Mugo revealed that many women are discouraged to take on new career paths because of having no person or thing to motivate them to achieve their goal.

“Being self-driven can gift a woman the ability to work alone when no person believes in her dream, that often happens for several reasons based on the future of the goal, one of the reasons may be because the people you seek support from already sees the future to your target goal, another reason can be they do not see anything beyond your expression of the goal,” she says

3. You must have a mentor

Mentors can highly impact a woman to become a better version of herself, says Ms Mugo. She expounds that mentors are an integral part of any successful journey because they are often far more experienced in whatever goal you want to achieve.

“A mentor does not have to be in the same profession as you, but it has to be someone respectful, with an experienced life story, one whose mindset aligns with what you want to achieve because you want a person that will give you directives instead of making you want to give up on your vision,” she says

She says a mentor must, at least, be older than you, whose career is successful because this kind of person will have led their career with the same problem you might be having at that particular moment.

4. You must have a strong will

Ms Mugo explained that besides being the president of Rotary Club of Dar es Salaam Oysterbay, she has also worked in insurance for at least 30 years, she says she hung on for three decades due to having a strong will.

“Challenges are often there to test your will and patience, but they shape you and take you in the right direction. Had it not been for my strong will, I could have given up on my career as an insurance worker or even perhaps as the president of rotary club of Oysterbay,” she explains.

5. Develop a reading habit

It is through reading that a woman comes across peoples’ stories on their failures and how they got to their career destination.

“Every woman must at least develop a habit of reading, it might be storybooks, magazines or newspapers, at times the only mentor you need is a book. You get to learn a lot through reading,” says Ms Mugo.

6. Giving up is not an option

Ms Mugo says hardships can get in the way of any career advancement, but women should not allow hurdles to dent their progress.

“On your way to that successful point, you will meet a lot of difficulties including changes that you never thought possible, you must never allow them to change your already successful story,” she encourages.

Ms Mugo says whenever a thought about giving up comes to your mind, you have to first think of the people looking up to you, especially your team.

“A woman must have hope even in difficult situations, her team will be encouraged to work harder if and only when there is hope, making them believe that nothing is impossible,” she says

She speaks highly of changes, saying they teach a person to adopt to different situations.

“A negative change can pop up when you are almost at the finish line, as a woman, you must learn to never accept that as the end of your inspiring career journey because, in the negative change, there must be positive incentives,” says Ms Mugo.

She further reveals that it has never been easy for her because, from an African perspective, it is a man’s world.

“The reason I’m saying this without sugarcoating is because when people see women, what comes first to their mind is gender. For example, even in my current position I’m first and foremost viewed as a woman. I think this is something that needs to change,” she says.

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