Zuhura a champion of gender diversity in the workplace

Mwananchi Communication Limited

What you need to know:

Zuhura’s journey to the boardroom officially began in 2004 when she was picked as an Aspen Global Leadership Network Fellow, thereafter, the sky was the limit for her

Dar es Salaam. It is thrilling when women leaders include development of the next generation of female leaders as one of their career missions. Amongst them is Zuhura Sinare Muro. whose career experience made her understand the importance of practising gender diversity at work places and in the society.
Early in her career, Zuhura, founder and Managing Director of Lindam Group and Legacy Capital Partners, experienced the challenges and limitations that are encountered by women in managerial levels.
Giving a glimpse of her life and career while highlighting gender inequality, Zuhura shared her journey in a report dubbed ‘Leading Tanzanian Women in Financial Services’ prepared by International Finance Corporation (IFC) in June 2021.
Zuhura’s journey to the boardroom officially began in 2004 when she was selected as an Aspen Global Leadership Network Fellow.
“This opportunity opened up my career world because not only did I gain mentors, but also I gained a global network of leaders who had had salty and sweet taste of leadership. These men and women were diverse in terms of age, vision and personality. This made me receive insightful guidance in my profession,” Zuhura says.
In 2006, she collaborated with one of her mentors, Ali Mufuruki, the late leadership pioneer in East Africa, to mobilise the Aspen Fellows in the East African region with the purpose of establishing the Africa Leadership Initiative’s East Africa Foundation and serving as its Executive Secretary for about 10 years.
As he worked with Zuhura closely, Ali recognised her talent and this influenced him to recommend that she succeed him as chairperson of Mwananchi Communications Limited (MCL)’s board, a position that opened doors for her into multiple boardrooms including Nation Media Group’s board, the Aga Khan University Thinking Group’s board and Kenya Commercial Bank Tanzania (KCTB)’s board.
“Despite my growing prominence and professional acclaim, I was unsure about accepting membership in KCTB’S board because I lacked experience in the financial sector. My husband encouraged me after he counselled me. He told me: “They believe in you. You can do this, so give it a try’. Soon after I joined the board, I became the chair of KCBT’s Human Resources Board Committee,” Zuhura narrates.
As she focused more on prioritising gender equality in the bank, Zuhura became involved in the HR strategy and with the support of Ngeny Biwwot, 18 HR policies were rewritten, requiring equal opportunities for both male and female.
They also developed a succession strategy that ensured promotion of qualified women as well as strengthened the relationship between the board and the leadership team by encouraging partnership between the two parties. This motive led KCBT to quickly become profitable for the first time in eight years.
In 2015, Zuhura became the chairperson of KCBT’S Board of Directors and one of her first moves in her position was that she encouraged the company’s management team and the board’s human resources committee to seek out and hire qualified women in key roles.
Zuhura recalls: “In 2019, during my tenure as a chairperson, and for the first time in the company’s history, three women board members signed off on our financial statements. Seeing those statements published in national newspapers was tangible proof of my success in helping the KCBT to be both financially successful and more gender equal.”
Like many women leaders, Zuhura’s career faced multiple hurdles as it was taking off.
After she gave birth to two sons, Zuhura decided to return to work, expecting to adjust and continue her career as an administrator in higher education, little did she know what was coming her way.
At the time she was pursuing a Master’s degree in education administration, she faced gender discrimination and harassment. These two made her switch to a general management diploma programme.
Over the years, there have been several other incidents of sexism that tested Zuhura’s resolve. In each of these situations, Zuhura either firmly condemned the bad behavior, and was prepared to quit if she did not receive an apology, or she adopted a wait-and-see attitude, and let her work speak for itself.
“In difficult times, I always rely on my strong inner compass, which guides me to the right course of action, no matter how hard it may be. I believe that if you have a deep sense of purpose and a laser sharp focus, there is nothing you cannot do,” she details.
According to Zuhura, for gender diversity to be practiced in work places, it starts with development of leaders. She believes that it takes a good managerial team to understand and include women to be sitting around decision making tables. She says that CEO’s and boards should tap into female talent as well as create a culture that is welcoming and supportive of women.
“Management matters immensely, but we focus too much on creating supervisors, and not enough on building true leaders—those with the right mindset to lead. If management doesn’t have the right mindset, sexism and other inter-personal problems have fertile ground to flourish. Policies help, but implementation matters the most,” she explains.
She advices young women to work hard and always be prepared as well as they should stay open to learning new things.
“You may face gender discrimination along the way and in such a situation, use your voice fearlessly to advocate for yourself strategically and assertively. You can do this if you are standing on a strong foundation of knowledge and have a strong moral compass to guide you,” Zuhura avers.