#RisingWoman: How support systems elevated Elizabeth’s career

A strong support system is the foundation of every successful career.

This system tends to remind you to stand up confidently as you work towards your goals.

This particular system is made up of people who celebrate all of your highs and lend you a reassuring presence during your lows.

One of the people who believes in the alignment between career growth and supportive systems is Elizabeth Karua.

She is the Legal Counsel at Anglo Gold Ashanti-Geita Gold Mining Limited.

She has about 15 years of experience in the legal arena and her career kicked off shortly after she became an advocate for Mkono & Co. Advocates.

She then moved to GGM, where she has been working for eight years. However, her story did not begin there.

“I was the first girl born into a family of three boys. As I was growing up, my father wanted to set up a parenting system that would strengthen me and not leave me feeling left out. From a young age, I became confident about who I am. Some of my siblings became lawyers and seeing them dress up for court and talk about law as if it’s their second language made me think about becoming a lawyer too,” she says.

Her dream for an ideal career came true after she joined the University of Dar es Salaam to pursue a Bachelor of Laws, where she graduated with flying colours, before she proceeded to study a Master of Laws at Middlesex University in the United Kingdom in 2008.

“My father could not afford to pay for the tuition fees, so we made a deal: he would cover half of the fees and I would complete the other half. I was certain that I would get a chance to work part-time jobs where the goal was to save every penny,” she narrates.

One of the things that Elizabeth did not know about was that the UK was going through a financial crisis at the time she enrolled at Middlesex University, which made it challenging for foreigners to find work.

“I went through a number of job interviews in the hopes of landing a respectable position, but I was forced to accept any employment—even if it had nothing to do with law—after realising how quickly time was passing. My first part-time job was waiting at a restaurant where I was paid £6 per hour. I was also permitted to only work 20 hours a week. My second job was dishwashing. It was such a humbling experience,” she recalls.

There were testing times that pushed Elizabeth to an edge.

However, her faith and resilience made her swim past the difficulties.

She later joined Vodafone as a Customer Service officer, a position that helped her cover her rent and school needs until the very last minute when she graduated.

She immediately got back to Tanzania and was excited to officially join the family league of lawyers.

She, however, met another challenge. She had to study at the Law School of Tanzania for a year before starting her professional career.

Elizabeth took up a teaching job as an assistant lecturer at Tumaini University, Dar es Salaam College (Tudarco) and joined Law School at the same time.

Her teaching experience assisted her in getting a peek into her teachers’ perspectives and mindsets because she was also one of them at the time.

In 2012, she decided to seek another job because she sought a new challenge that would push her to growth and new routines more than teaching ever did.

In July of the same year, Elizabeth joined Mkono & Co. as an advocate.

“I was given a choice to practice as an in-house lawyer or in litigation, whereas I would be going to court. I wanted experience in both fields, so I chose both. I was busier than I had ever been. But I managed to find a ground that helped me balance both assignments as well as parenting because I became a first-time mother around the same time,” she explains.

Elizabeth joined GGM in May 2015, and the rest is history.

Among the things she has learned during her career journey is that women always have to work twice as hard to be ‘ahead of the game, as she puts it.

“There is a programme conducted by GGM where I mentor girls at Nyankumbu Girls Secondary School. Through this programme, I share with them my own experience with the intent of inspiring them to work hard to achieve their goals. I usually emphasise to them not to choose subjects if given a choice because that would make them brilliant in every subject,” she explains.

Elizabeth began to conduct seminars in 2023 through the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS) about the importance of in-house counselling.

“I am conducting these seminars to advocate for lawyers or legal experts to take up in-house counselling,” she explains.