Rose: Overcoming gender barriers with fellow women

Dar es Salaam. In a society where gender equality is still being explored, women in top leadership positions must pull other women to those positions to enhance gender diversity.

Being one of the people who was pulled up by a fellow woman, Rose Metta, Regional Manager for Tanzania’s National Social Security Fund (NSSF) as well as Board Chair at CRDB Insurance Brokers (CIB) and a Board Member at CRDB Bank, says that women leaders should be frontline supporters for women aspiring and working hard to acquire top positions.

Sharing her journey with International Finance Corporation in a report titled ‘Leading Tanzanian Women in the Financial Services’ that was released in June 2021, Rose unveils her career.

When Rose applied for her first job at the NSSF in 1993, she was newly married and expecting her first child. The recruitment committee hesitated, concerned that Rose being pregnant would limit her work and they considered withdrawing their offer after they learned of her pregnancy. However, a woman who was part of the committee stood up for her.

“I later found that she argued that my pregnancy would not affect my work performance in any way and she did not relent until the committee agreed to give me the job. I was grateful to her and worked up to the last day of my pregnancy,” she narrates.

Years later, tables turned and Rose found herself on the hiring side, she stepped into the shoes of the woman who sponsored her and argued for hiring a woman candidate.

“The interviewers were concerned that the husband of the top candidate resided in another city and that it could have been a problem for her. As a result, they were contemplating hiring a male candidate who was the second top candidate. I intervened and told the committee that we had to trust this woman’s ability to handle her personal life just as we would if the person concerned was a man,” she recalls.

Convinced by the Rose’s arguments, the committee agreed and the woman was hired. Several years later, Rose is proud that this woman is excelling at her work and thriving day by day.

Having a seat in several boards in Tanzania, Rose has been voted in as a non–executive director three times. In this particular role, she promotes gender diversity as a core element in the bank’s human capital development strategy. Rose leads the board and management teams in discussing how to improve gender balance in the companies she is a part of.

“As a board member, I have seen firsthand that boards with women members are more democratic than all-male boards and that having women on the boards is crucial for a balanced assessment of issues. When women are part of the boards, people get to hear different perspectives on issues concerning the companies. This helps to build stronger boards as well as consensus,” she explains.

With Rose being part of the minority of women on several boards she has served on, she has picked up valuable lessons along the way.

“I was often asked to explain my point in more detail than my male colleagues even when we were talking about similar things. While this was truly frustrating, it pushed me to read more, become more knowledgeable and present my thoughts and opinions in a more organized way that is easily understood. This helped me to gain respect from both my colleagues and my fellow board members,” she details.

Rose believes that her experiences as a board member of multiple companies has helped her to become less defensive, more open to other’s views and it has taught her to take criticism in her stride.

She stresses the importance of nominating more women to board positions to help pave the way for the young women who are making entrance in the sector.

“Most women marry and have children in the first five to seven years of the career and their focus is not on the professional achievement at this time. However men tend to use this period to advance by taking graduate studies, certifications and seeking promotions,” Rose explains.

As a leader and mentor to women at NSSF today, Rose is keen for young women in the financial and insurance sector to receive the same guidance and sponsorship that she did in her career.

“During organisational events, I usually urge my team members to give presentations so that they develop their public speaking skills. I also insist women in my team to go for post-graduate degrees or diplomas as well enrolling in corporate training programs so that they can advance themselves career wise,” she details.

Outside of work, Rose sponsors young women in higher education from time to time.

“In my role at work, I am limited to helping the women in my organisation but my goal now is to help as many young women as I can. I always start by talking to them and guiding them to start successful careers regardless of the sector,” she says.